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Mar 02, 2017 Web Exclusive By Scott Dransfield

As frontman of the Montreal post-punk band Ought, Tim Darcy often channels eccentrics like David Byrne and Isaac Brock. On Saturday Night, Darcy’s first solo release, he aims for something else entirely; the 10-song disc is a tour through alternative rock forms from several decades. Most of the songs here are more strictly conventional than anything in Ought’s young discography.

“Tall Glass of Water,” the lead single and album opener, is the most accessible song in the tracklist, starting with a lively punk-rock jangle before settling into a more sustainable, shuffling groove. The transition here sets a pattern for the rest of the album; Darcy is restless, only letting a single song idea play out for a couple minutes. “Joan Pt 1, 2” is like this as well, its two parts seeming to evoke the haunting psych garage of Bradford Cox’s various projects (Deerhunter, Atlas Sound). Meanwhile, Darcy makes a claim for Ty Segall’s throne on the unhinged “You Felt Comfort.”

All this name-checking makes an important point: on his solo work, Darcy is clearly less interested in idiosyncrasy. Rather, he strips his songwriting down to honest, structured, simple parts. Even the unsettling, experimental instrumental stretches, which become more frequent toward the end of the album, can’t really compare to the ambition in Darcy’s material with Ought. Saturday Night‘s biggest accomplishment, then, is rounding out Darcy as a songwriter. Not only is this a pleasant little rock album, but it makes Ought’s output more understandable as well. (www.timdarcy.com)

Author rating: 6.5/10