Spencer Albee
Relentlessly Yours,
Animal Magnetism/Dry Goods Records 

In 1995, when a wave of Beatles nostalgia hit the States in the form of the Anthology documentary series, superfan Spencer Albee made his recording debut as the keyboardist for Rustic Overtones. The influence of his McCartney worship has been rising like a crescendo ever since, reaching a peak during his recent run of solo albums. Relentlessly Yours, continues Albee’s love affair with bouncy British Invasion melodies, despite lyrics that wrestle with the need to move on from a failed relationship. It’s one of the ultimate pop oxymorons: the upbeat breakup album. Opener “Just Like Clockwork” is a gleeful little sing-along about the inevitability of rejection, propelled by effervescent synth bass and chiming glockenspiel. The gnawing self-deprecation of “You Swept Me Off My Feet” is washed away by a textbook Nick Lowe chorus. And when Albee finally slows things down on the R&B ballad “Too Much,” the alchemy is complete. “I can think of anything and find a way to bring it back to you,” he sings in his earnest, unshowy tenor, perfectly conveying the nature of broken-hearted obsession while singing a pleasant, lilting melody — the kind that’s been known to make us believe that, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, it is getting better all the time.

— Joe Sweeney