The fact that McClellan is able to marry elements as disparate as an earnest, definitively 21st century vocal waver with cascading piano arrangements that recall the most baroque Paul McCartney or Harry Nilsson compositions without sounding either precious or stilted is impressive, and the content that fleshes out this form is as winning as the nonchalance with which the whole thing is pulled off.
There's a purity of vision that remains consistent throughout these ten songs. At best, this means the album flows by nice and smoothly. The flip-side critique would be that the whole thing is a bit samey, but there's no shame in letting this simply be what it wants to be. Phillips has their palette and they know how to operate within a set of limitations.
Listening to Palm brings the same sort of comfort that comes from being in a crowded room with a thousand conversations at once: There are a million avenues to direct your attention, but there’s still a subtle joy in being able to let the chatter exist around you without clinging too heavily to piecing everything together.
With Your Belly is not a place where sugary choruses thrive. On any given track, at the very least the vocals, if not every other instrument, are muddied with modulation and reverb. However, this band is not hiding; they are clear from the get-go that this is how they define themselves and find further understanding.
Given their quiet mystique, the news of a live album excited many fans of their rowdy, smartass brand of rock and roll. Thankfully, The Minneapolis Uranium Club LIVE at Arci TAUN!, a document of the band playing a compact 40-minute set in the small town of Fidenza in Northern Italy, perfectly showcases what makes Uranium Club such a unique group.
