Album Review: Fast Future Present by Mandarin

Despite middle-of-nowhere jokes like the Mountain Goats' hilarious shaggy dog story "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton," the north central Texas college town has thrown up some really good artists, from Brave Combo to Corn Mo. Studiously cool post-rockers Mandarin are another link in that chain, and Fast Future Present is a self-assured and often fascinating collection of songs that artfully blend the standard elements of post-rock with unexpectedly melodic pop. All the pieces are there: Jayson Wortham's wispy, deadpan vocals rarely rise above a whisper and his lyrics are basically impenetrable, Dave Douglass' battery of percussion almost overpowers songs like the increasingly hyper riff-rocker "Pilot Light," and he and bassist Peter Salisbury regularly shift the songs in and out of unexpected time signature changes, while guitarist Matt Leer and Salisbury's keyboard parts slowly build over the course of the songs, so that a song like "Eye On Time" drifts from a quietly tense opening to a swirling climax before receding and finally stopping dead with a razor-blade edit.

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