From the Absolute Powerpop followup department: The Broken West's I Can't Go On I'll Go On is finally out today on Merge Records, which means it's also available on eMusic. It's the long-awaited full-length from the dudes formerly known as The Brokedown, and about whom I've mentioned on several previous occasions.
So how's the album itself? I've had a chance to listen to it over the last couple of weeks, and it's pretty good. Not quite the near-perfection of The Dutchman's Gold EP (with which it shares "Down In The Valley"), but pretty darn good. The move to Merge has them sounding a bit more "indie rock" than power pop ("Brass Ring" is a nice track, but it sounds like someone told them to write one that sounds like Spoon - ditto for "Big City"), but they never were a pure power pop band to begin with. Among the highlights, "So It Goes" is an excellent number, as is "Shiftee", which features their alt-country roots, and "You Can Build An Island" is Dutchman's Gold-worthy.
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