More

There are a couple of “ARP” bands out there. One that’s a DJ duo (one of the members being Mark Rae), and there’s another that’s a band from the 1990’s that stands for “Always Ready to Perform”. Today’s Arp is neither of those acts, but instead, it’s the moniker for Alexis Georgopoulos’s solo work. Georgopoulos already has two albums under this belt, and just referencing those two works, it’s hard to predict where he would go next. Would his third record, More be more like the synth-based In Light? Or like the more traditional guitar/drum-oriented The Soft Wave?More feels like it picks up where The Soft Wave left off – the record centers around more traditional instruments than we saw on Arp’s debut record, and there’s a bigger push for melody on More. Well, that actually might be all there is. Many of these songs are stripped of anything save just what the record “needs”, but that’s not to say that it’s minimalist here. Take the opening track, “High-Heeled Clouds”, for example: it’s piano and bass wouldn’t sound out of place on a Paul McCartney record, but it feels strangely shallow. There’s not much depth to these songs after the initial punch of melody. Arp attempts switch gears a little with instrumentals like “A Tiger in the Hall at Versailles” or “Gravity (For Charlemagne Palestine)”, but these songs still sound just kind of ordinary. There are a few hints of synths and other spacey sound effects throw in the mix, but they can’t help how plain these songs are. The best moments of this record arise when Georgopoulos gives in to his weirder tendencies, and the further down the rabbit hole he goes, the better he gets. And for that reason, the instrumentals on this record create some of the best moments.But being “plain” ain’t a bad thing. Georgopoulos is able to conjure up echoes of McCartney, The Cars, and Eno’s more accessible work, and one could do a lot worse than that. More will be of interest to fans of Arp because of the interesting progression this songwriter has made with his career. For most listeners, More will probably offer a good listen or two, but the record’s dependency on simple, easy melody makes it a listen that doesn’t nag for a repeat.