Posted on March 01, 2010 by Greg

This is a concept album from Boise, Idaho-based artist Jeremy Jensen and his assorted friends who make up The Very Most. Their concept is a pretty basic one: it starts with songs about spring and moves through summer, fall and winter. Each season gets an intro, followed by about 4 songs relating to that time of year (fall gets shorted a little with just 3 tracks.)

A Year With… is an extremely pretty and delicate pop album, constructed with a lot of care and thought. Clearly lots of time was spent in the studio layering these shy anthems. You can hear the catchy hooks and melodies of Big Star, the jangly pop of the Byrds and other 60s pop groups, touches of Matthew Sweet, and the keyboards and male-female harmonies of Mates of State. There is also a heavy dose of Beach Boys harmonies that make their way into almost every song. The good news: there is not a bad song on this album. The catch: among the 19 tracks, there are few real standouts. My favorites were: “April is the Kindest Month,” “A Mid-80s Lower-middle Class Family Summer Road Trip,” “You’re In Love with the Sun,” “Fireworks” and “Autumn Air.” Even these contain a very similar bouncy energy that flows from one to the next.

The concept of tackling the four seasons is only really accomplished in the lyrical content of the songs. Musically, not a heck of a lot changes. It starts with an awfully warm-sounding spring… “April is the kindest month… it’s not too hot, it’s not too cold… just feels nice.” (This is my first clue that the guy is not from Chicago.) It then moves into a warm summer, followed by a warm fall and a warm winter. You’d swear the guy was from Honolulu the way his seasons play out. There is a sameness that washes over the proceedings and makes you wonder why he bothered to run with this four seasons concept when his heart clearly lies with the summer (which is the strongest section of the album.) He could have shortened the record down to 10 or 12 songs and made a full-on summer record, which is what this sounds like in the first place.

Here’s what I would do: get this record and listen to it on headphones ‘til it gets warm. Then break it out for your first summer party. This is great stuff to have on in the background with the windows open, a grill smoking in the backyard and a bunch of friends milling about with drinks and conversation. If I were naming the album, I would call it Four Summers with the Very Most… not much variety, but still a hell of a lot better than four winters.

7.5 of 10

–Greg

The UnLive | Album Review: A Year With the Very Most by The Very Most9.4105