Domino

With both Ducktails and his better-known outfit of beach bums Real Estate, Matthew Mondanile’s calling card has long been all things laidback: well-constructed rock music with a tossed-off sound. And that juxtaposition has never been clearer than on Ducktails’ latest, The Flower Lane, with 10 beautiful and surprisingly catchy dream-rock jewels. His magic is packing full-band arrangements into delicate, soft-glow beauties without losing that lo-fi looseness. The songs are musically rich, but feel effortless and free, similar to Dan Bejar’s Destroyer. The echoing sax that concludes the midsummer night’s dream “Under Cover” or the warped synth that weaves through the muted-funk duet “Letter of Intent” are all part of Mondanile’s flowing musical fabric. Influences of C-86 shimmer, The Zombies’ step-by-step melodies and the sun-bleached guitar of Real Estate all poke through. While he gets help from friends like Daniel Lopatin, Joel Ford and Madelline Folin, Mondanile spins down this flowery lane proudly by himself.