DBA as the quirkily named Aluminum Boys, the Wisconsin bred, San Jose based singer/songwriter duo of Jared Ottmann and Bill Pence sound like they just blasted out of a glorious 90’s-2000’s indie rock fever dream, driven by snappy, sizzling guitars and twisted soaring vocal harmonies, ready to pounce on our hearts, souls, funny bones and nostalgic longings with fascinating, insightful narratives, colorful character studies and offbeat geography lessons.
Before we begin unpacking some of that, there’s the minor matter of the title of their stellar, continuously infectious and engaging full length debut Collected Pieces – normally the kind of name bands give to a retrospective compilation. Turns out, it refers to the duo’s rearrangement (ultimately for our repeated listening pleasure) of the accumulated tracks on their hard drive. Tangentially, it also might refer to the far-flung Covid-era file sharing the Aluminums engaged in after recording their foundational tracks at The Coterie Den in San Jose. That includes back and forths with their renowned production team of Paula Kelly and Aaron Tap (Matt Nathanson, Drop Nineteens), drummer Sean Hutchinson and, for one of the album’s highlights, the whimsical, clap-along folk vibin’ romp “Lowlands,” Grammy winning banjo great Kyle Tuttle.
Any of the 10 thematically and musically eclectic tracks would make solid entry points, but since Ottman, Pence and Co. dropped a few lead singles, let’s start with the percussive, hard driving “Common Pleas,” one of the funky geography lessons here. The hilarious, super-descriptive tale takes us to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas (that’s Cleveland, folks), where a guy summoned for jury duty develops a raging, highly detailed crush on a stenographer named Tracy and justifies his obsession/fantasy love affair by offering a moral opinion: “Two things can be true/You wanna be wicked and bad/You wanna be lawful and good.” The other quirky bit of geography on the album takes us to the duo’s chirpy observational views of a kinda generic, dysfunctional, nothing special real life town called “Pocahontas, IL.” They seem to be mocking it, but remind us over and over “’My heart’s in Illinois.”
The other singles – and remember these are just starting points to immerse in the magic from – are the lazy, hazy nostalgic reflection on truly celebrating the mundanity of the simpler, times of “favoritE daYs” and “Green Texts,” a witty, rhythmically throbbing and guitar scorching yarn about unequally yoked lovers who seem to live in different eras (20some years apart) of technological advancement. The remaining Collected Pieces are likewise fascinating gems reflecting the duo’s rich incisive songwriting, performing and vocal artistry.
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