Published on July 07, 2009 at 11:13am

Gray’s easygoing pop swings in two directions. Certain songs are saddled with — but not bogged down by — a sense of resigned melancholy (the addiction lament/lullaby “Back of the Moon”). Others — such as the infectious opening track “There He Goes” — ramp up the group’s perky, punchy, pop dynamics. On that sunnier tip, “On Your Side (Soldier’s Song)” begins like a Sonic Youth jam and morphs into a horn-aided rocker reminiscent of Being There­-era Wilco. Even slower songs such as “Why Would I Wait for Another?” and the stunning album-closer “Land of Endless Change” turn Buckley’s blues into something grand and majestic, thanks to their precisely arranged instrumental codas. Few bands anywhere spin out songs that spring to life with a simple, earthy joy and heart-on-sleeve sentiment — but Grace Basement and Gunmetal Gray achieve this balance with emotional maturity and musical intuition.

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The Post-Rockist

It’s one thing for a band to proclaim Harry Nilsson and XTC among their primary influences; it’s quite another to follow through and deliver the goods. Gunmetal Gray, the sophomore effort from St. Louis’ Grace Basement, hearkens back to the better features of any number of pure pop purveyors — a more creatively concise Jon Brion; a Ben Kweller not inclined to indulge his hokum country fancies — but at no point does it feel reduced to pastiche. With impeccably layered harmonies, urbane arrangements, and lead songwriter Kevin Buckley’s deft fiddling, Gunmetal Gray has turned out to be one of most pleasant surprises of 2009.

I’ve been listening to this album since April, when the band temporarily released it as a free download from their website. The download was split like an old record into two tracks, an A side and a B side. I don’t know if the vinyl analogy was intentional, but considering how meticulously composed each individual track was put together, the overarching emotional flow of the album as a whole is remarkably fluid. From the boisterous and baroque opener “There He Goes” to the wry resignation of “Tilly Lingers” through to the orchestral flourishes of “Land of Endless Change,” the band, only recently conceived of as a four-piece, puts on a consistent and exuberant display of power pop prowess.

It seems the timeframe for nabbing the disc as a free download has passed, but you can still order it online from Undertow Music or, what I would recommend, buy it direct from the band tonight at their CD release show at Off Broadway. Boston’s Everyday Visuals and St. Louis’ excellent Old Lights are opening.