Since restyling himself as charismatic bandleader Edward Sharpe, Alex Ebert has enjoyed considerable success – most notably with raucous 2009 single Home, on which he and now-departed vocalist Jade Castrinos sang about their feelings for one other as if they lived in an old barn, rather than 21st-century LA. Affectation is part and parcel of Ebert’s work with his band, and this fourth album sees the group continue to trowel on the rustic glaze. On No Love Like Yours, Ebert, in a typical show of faux naivety, claims not to know his “name”, “style” or “a thing or two”. Elsewhere, though, the late-60s retro references employed feel considered enough not to grate.
David Bowie’s meandering, gently trippy second album seems like a touchstone – it’s not a surprise to discover that the band once covered Memory of a Free Festival. Sgt Pepper-era Beatles production also looms large, with parping horns and melodic muttering adorning the end of Free Stuff to very appealing effect.
