Figurines - Skeleton (2006)

This second effort from Figurines is enough to make a listener do a double take. The Danish fourpiece sounds almost exactly like Modest Mouse. If Isaac Brock isn't providing the vocals, it's his Copenhagen equivalent. Album closer "Release Me on the Floor" is the greatest offender or the finest copy, depending on one's viewpoint. But Figurines don't place all their eggs in one basket, finding lesser influence from Pavement, Built to Spill, and a myriad other Pacific U.S. bands. It's almost as if they've gone to their local listening library, picked a region of the world, and sought to mimic the artists from that area. But Figurines do their impersonation well enough and with enough hooks and fine melodies to come out with a more than winning result. They add enough to the mix to be more of a Lush to My Bloody Valentine rather than a Yatsura to Pavement. There's not a clunker in this batch of 14 sunshine-laden songs. And though some of the production is a bit too reminiscent of 1990s indie rock, the songs are strong enough and the attitude addictive enough to position Figurines as more than an also-ran.