Though admired by a range of emo and indie rockers, Algernon Cadwallader originally considered themselves an off-kilter punk band, and they fully embrace that identity on Trying Not to Have a Thought. It’s their densest and loudest album, even if each member sounds more controlled on the whole. From the gnarled rock propelling “Shameless Faces (even the guy who made the thing was a piece of shit)” to the artful, ketamine-fueled post-punk of “noitanitsarcorP,” all four members sound energized, focused, and inspired by each other’s ideas. “There is no ‘I’ in Algernon,” Helmis yells with relief on the title track. It’s a testament to the band members’ tight bond and how their live shows allow the public to share in it.
In the band’s first run, Algernon Cadwallader were sometimes criticized for being too in thrall to their influences: Cap’n Jazz, Joan of Arc, Owls. But even that intended bullet bounces like a rubber band in the emo scene, where the Kinsellas are venerated like saints and simultaneously recognized for how they’ve continued to evolve as musicians over the years. Algernon would like to attempt the same, and the development of Helmis’ vocal tactics on “What’s Mine” alone warrants the reunion album: He mumble-speaks like Phil Elverum, switches to pining long notes, and lets melodic hiccups accent his transition from scream-yodel to full-on yell. Meanwhile, Tazza continues the tradition of Analphabetapolothology’s childlike percussive loafing by casting a prism of pastel textures over “Koyaanisqatsi” with triangle, shakers, and diaphanous drum patterns.
Reinhart, who also mixed the album, trains the spotlight on the precise jabs of a buttoned-up fencing match with Mahony, his co-guitarist. The two dance around one another in equal volume, light on their feet, with intricate finger-tapping and rhythmic interplay that cherry-picks from Midwest emo, bluegrass, jazz, and fingerstyle guitar. In “You’ve Always Been Here,” atop Tazza’s steady beat and Helmis’ bassline, Reinhart and Mahony ramp up until their two guitars sound like four, then six. The intentional frenzy of Algernon Cadwallader’s past work is refined into contemplative passages (“What’s Mine”) and sugary Pop Rocks explosions (“World of Difference”) that raise your heart rate without mandating participation in the mosh pit. Tempting as it is to credit that melodic punk push as being solely Reinhart’s handiwork—he’s the band’s not-so-secret weapon, a producer for Beach Bunny and Modern Baseball—a closer ear takes notice of the crucial choices Mahony makes in each of his complementary guitar parts.
By waiting to return to the drawing board, Algernon Cadwallader built Trying Not to Have a Thought on their own time and in their own way. The mood is grateful and reflective, but it doesn’t dull their unruly style. The title track, the album’s centerpiece, introduces an effortless, freewheeling hook that drips with bittersweet nostalgia as Helmis belts mouthfuls like, “I’m trying not to get caught in the backwash of an artificial world constructed by bloodsucking motherfuckers in an anti-social coliseum.” He’s having fun, but he’s not putting on blinders for the sake of a good time. “Hawk” opens the album by grieving a high school friend: Helmis remembers roughhousing and playing with pocket knives together, never imagining they’d run out of time. “A few of your favorite clothes from your high school wardrobe/Are the closest thing to having you back,” he sings. His bandmates know exactly how to brighten pockets of the song to match Helmis’ elegy: “When we had the chance/We did it right.”
