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Aug 23, 2012 Web Exclusive By Lily Moayeri

White Arrows’ debut full-length, Dry Land Is Not a Myth, takes cues from both dance floors and drum circles. Aided by RAC’s production (Penguin Prison), the Los Angeles-based five-piece’s rock palette is all about shifting filters of psychedelic sounds. The quintet hits pop and calypso flavors along the way, finding itself slotted alongside Vampire Weekend and Animal Collective.

The group’s backstory goes a long way in explaining White Arrows’ well-balanced blend of organic and synthetic sounds. Vocalist Mickey Church was legally blind until the age of 11; hence the vivid imagery. Church’s father’s involvement with African percussion pushed him towards experimentation with those indigenous sounds; hence the Afro-beat undertones. Church himself earned an undergraduate degree in shamanistic ritual; ence the hallucinogenic overtones.

Myth is, in a word, colorful. Church’s scratchy falsetto leads the abbreviated half-hour album, squawking and soothing by turns, and both sides of his vocal style work here. This is due in part to the changeable nature of Myth. The album lends itself to the dance-rock of “Coming or Going” as much as it does to the indie warbles of “Getting Lost” and the synth bubbles of “Sail On.” In the process, White Arrows make themselves agreeable to everyone without spending too much time with any style to overstay their welcome. Nicely done. (www.whitearrows.com)

Author rating: 7/10