Neins Circa

Listening to Sleeves And Wigs, one gets the impression that the Neins Circa don’t quite know where they stand musically. The Vancouver quartet oscillate between boisterous pop songs, earnest school gym slow dance-worthy ballads and offbeat experimentation. Variety is great and all but sometimes the Neins Circa come across as two completely different bands. Even Cameron Dilworth’s vocals divide between the earnestness of Ben Folds and the quirkiness of Dan Bejar (an unsurprising comparison, considering New Pornographer Carl Newman essentially discovered the band). The Neins Circa like to give credit where credit is due, slyly slipping allusions to heroes into their lyrics. Opening track "Faster Than Them” mentions an "airplane over the sea” and "The Bentley Hills” includes a line about "summer teeth,” references to Neutral Milk Hotel and Wilco, respectively. The vast majority of the song structures on Sleeves And Wigs refreshingly defy formula. It’s interesting, however, that the very best track is the most formulaic of the bunch. "Green Pants,” a ditty about a crafty DIY girlfriend and her homemade pants, is strictly verse, chorus, verse but damn if it isn’t pure magic. They’re still a young band but their potential is apparent. Once the Neins Circa sort themselves out, they’re going to have even more magic up their collective sleeves.