Control

Brooklyn band Dinosaur Feathers shifted from melodic avant psychedelia on their 2010 debut, Fantasy Memorial, to more straightforward, harmony-heavy pop on the 2012 follow-up, Whistle Tips. The move from their ethnocentric indie psych debut to more carefree pop territory stripped away some of their seriousness and left their sophomore album feeling lighter and more fun. A few years down the road, Dinosaur Feathers vocalist Greg Sullo found himself falling deep into a phase of being obsessed with '80s soul and R&B, in particularly the enormous (if dated) pop production of Janet Jackson. Control, the band's third album and culmination of the months Sullo spent immersed in '80s FM soul sounds, finds the band evolving yet again, and sounding exponentially more fun than ever before. There are still remnants of their early experimental edge, but almost completely gone are their flirtations with Brazilian rhythms and Beach Boys-worshiping harmonies. Instead of Brian Wilson, Sullo has turned to Prince's manic falsetto for vocal inspiration and tapped into equal parts Janet Jackson and Joe Jackson on glossy soul-inflected pop tracks like "Anything You Want." Standout track "Zeitgeist" is the flagship of the album, with enormous gated drums that would sound at home on a Paula Abdul dance track and tight, shiny horn sections driving home the song's bounding chorus. "When You Coming Out" saunters along as well, vintage drum machines and brilliant harmony vocals leaving just enough space for cool sax solos and slinky guitar lines. "Impossible" juxtaposes a bassline remarkably akin to Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" with fuzzy guitars and cloudy atmospherics, calling back on Dinosaur Feathers' earlier catalog when they had more in common with contemporaries like Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors than the Top 40 charts of the summer of 1987. Endlessly catchy and just a little bit strange, Control is a fun ride that aims to make each of its nine cuts a single-worthy production. Some tracks rank higher than others, but overall, the album delivers a multicolored reimagining of '80s radio soul as Dinosaur Feathers take us on an unexpected escapade with their brilliantly engineered songs.