Antibodies

Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Nate Kinsella brings an adventurous (if tortured) spirit to his solo vehicle, Birthmark. He moves away from the fractured para-punk of his cousins Tim and Mike toward a quirky strain of prog rock. His sophomore album, Antibodies, further develops his musical identity with nervous rhythms, disorienting sonic textures, and darkly introspective lyrics. Kinsella makes it all compelling thanks to the sheer imagination he brings to this project. Each track has its own distinctive feel, letting the album unfold in soundtrack-like fashion. Marimbas, woodwinds, and strings (sometimes distorted or played backward) add intriguing colors to the unsettling beats and sparse guitars that ground the tracks in vaguely pop/rock forms. The twitching “Shake Hands,” the somber “You Light Me Up,” and the dense, semi-psychedelic “Please Go Away” draw the listener into moody internal monologues sung by Kinsella in mostly subdued tones. The bleak mood pervading the album's first half starts to lift in later tracks like “Your Imperfections” (a love song of sorts to his wife) and “Big Man” (an intimation of self-forgiveness set to chiming guitars).