Only Son: Searchlight

Only Son: Searchlight
Jack Dishel is not a household name but he has an indie rock pedigree. As the former lead guitarist for The Moldy Peaches, he experienced a taste of success; now as Only Son, he attempts to attain the same type of success. On his sophomore album as, Searchlight, Only Son continues his path making lush, indie folk.
The album’s opening track and first single, “Magic” is well representative of Only Son’s sound. The track has a Beatles-inspired neo-psychedelic folk sound similar to Beulah and features orchestral instruments like cello and violin. The beautiful arrangement is matched by beautiful lyrical content. The main idea of the song is sumerized in the track’s opening line “it’s magic till you know how it works.” The song revolves around this “ignorance is bliss” philosophy but putting it more in the context of holding on to innocence for as long as possible.
For the most part, the song keep this folk feel with lush arrangements but some song crank up the energy level; the most notable of these songs is “Stamp Your Name on It.” The track features almost surf-esque guitars and a driving drumbeat to set the tone. The lyrics are delivered with a manic energy that propels the song. The track comes up a little on the short side just making it over two minutes but it makes it have a high relistenability.
Searchlight as a whole has a high relistenability in my mind. Jack Dishel works on some of the finest pop songs of his career on the album and the result is 2011 has its first album of the year contender.
Rating: 9.5/10
MP3: Only Son “Magic”
Buy: iTunes or Amazon