Album Review: The Stacks

Bold ambitions carry a heavy burden in the lost idealism of Lay Me Down to Rest. The Stacks' debut album flows a steady folk and Americana style in falsetto waves from vocalist and songwriter Jake Ames, hearkening back to the Kerrville roots of him and brother Lucas Ames on drums. The swing rhythms – propelled by bassist Tyler Jordan in harmony-laced "Wasted Nostalgia" and surf rock-inspired "Chicon" – drive a persistent optimism, which wears thin in "Western Expanse." Haunting and iridescent, the latter track pleads that someone else take the wheel on a long personal journey.

Lay Me Down to Rest is the closing of a chapter. The densely layered chorus guitar, Southern crooning, and splash cymbals guide this reflection on a fallen figure's warpath so far from home, desperate for someone to confide in after their fall. This 32-minute retrospective specifically laments the struggle to pursue aspirations within the Austin music scene, laid bare in climactic finale "The Garden." Eerie opening chords score a Father John Misty-esque internal battle, transforming the live music capital into a symbolic Eden where a musician reaches disenchantment, yet still craves the proverbial apple. "Run from this garden," sings Jake Ames, pondering broken dreams behind the curtain.