Brad Pitt Light Orchestra

Lowering the Tone, Silly Goose Records ****

There is smart, there is clever and there is the Brad Pitt Light Orchestra, an Irish band that would have certain people (that is, me) running for the hills if their music was merely smart- ass without insight and clever- clogs without grounding. But BPLO pass the Pretension Test every time. Just when you think they’re more throwaway than a used nappy, a line or melody (or something even more nuanced) reminds you that they wear their influences casually. The band is comprised of siblings James, Ann and David Blake (who

writes all the lyrics and music), and a motley collection of musicians. The lyrically deft songs switch from Waits-like festivities and Arcade Fire-type ceremonies to tunes of agreeable whimsy and assured pop sensibility. If you can stomach the band’s “ooh- aren’t-we-the-droll-bright- young-things” name, then you’ll have a ball. Lowering the tone? Raising the bar, more like. See bplo.org

Download tracks:All Turns to Dust, Long Time Rogue