Mischa Dempsey started knitting as a kinda Covid project, and it then evolved into a band. This second effort is just as insular as what came before, though the band is more cohesive this time out. Perhaps everyone has become that much more in tune with Dempsey's songs.

knitting Souvenir (Mint Records)

Once upon there was a guy named Rob Crow. One of his early bands was Heavy Vegetable, one of the great not-exactly-anything grungy pop acts of the early 90s. If his name is familiar, he started Pinback sometime after the demise (or whatever) of Heavy Vegetable. I'm hearing a lot of Crow influences here, from the burbling song structure to the near single-minded focus on one person's interior world.

And, well, this sounds more than a little like the aforementioned Crow projects. Maybe a bit more structured, or maybe not. I'm undecided. What I do know is that Dempsey isn't one of those mopey bastards who thinks small. These are highly-introspective songs of cascading ambition. While there are musically minimalist moments, much more of this album creates its own waves and then thrashes about in the storm.

Forgive the metaphor salad. I'm hungry. Anyway, Dempsey and knitting aren't inventing anything, but these songs are sharply written and played with the appropriate amounts of devotion and disdain. Another one of those albums that probably sounds better during the summer, and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm ready to set off into their sea once more.

Jon Worley