Shipping News

Two of Louisville's KY's favourite indie rock kids, guitarist Jeff Mueller (June of 44) and bassist Jason Noble (Rachel's) return with a follow-up to their snail-paced 1997 debut, Save Everything. From the sounds of Very Soon, and In Pleasant Company, not much has changed since these two worked together in Rodan; the references remain Slint and their slo-core brethren like the For Carnation. You'd think every club in town was booking indie rock if this album fell down from space into your lap. Odd that in the four years since their debut, Shipping News has gone from moving with a like-minded, Quarterstick-minted pack to seeming completely out of step. It gives this album a novelty sheen, like discovering a favourite album you'd long forgotten, but it can't help but be tinged with a certain melancholy nostalgia.