Landlady - "Landlady"

Words by Zach Romano.

Brooklyn favorites Landlady have returned with their fourth album, an excellent self-titled effort. Landlady is a fitting title, as the album distills what these four musicians have done well on past efforts into a sound and feel that are distinctly and immediately recognizable as theirs. Fans of their previous three albums will recognize the intergalactic metaphors and sneaky chord changes here, and above all, Landlady retains the joy and palpable communality that have always been the band’s calling cards.   

Landlady purvey a sort of art pop that is unpredictable yet surprisingly inclusive. As in past outings, singer/songwriter Adam Schatz comes off as clever indeed but is sure to give enough winks and nudges to the listener to make sure they know they are in on the joke, too. Schatz cites The Band as an influence on the sound and process of the album (a particularly apt reference considering how the image he cuts at his piano is a dead ringer for Richard Manuel), and the sense of collaboration and community around the album gives the listener the same sense of there-but-not-there that listening to a favorite podcast does.

The band’s sound is lush and warm, and even in the more minimalist songs, there is a lot for a listener to seize on: at any given point, any of the four members of the band can be holding the rhythm down and allowing the others to wander under Schatz’s semi-falsetto. His lyrics are insightful and often tender: on “Supernova,” he struggles with a friend’s death and grapples with the challenges of processing one’s own sorrow when the world is a sea of it, and in “AM Radio” he sings about how something boring and disappointing in one context can be comforting and centering in another.

Landlady are an exhilarating band to see live, and Schatz knows and draws from it: “As months turned to more months, an emotional sacrifice began to ring as loudly as the economical one,” he wrote in his recent New York Times opinion piece (go read it!) on dealing with the effects of the past year’s coronavirus lockdown. “I realized that every day that darted by where I wasn’t performing music, I became a little bit weaker - in stamina, strength and spirit,” Landlady’s annual Christmas Spectacular show at Mercury Lounge is really the perfect summation of the band’s ethos and energy, featuring hours of festive sets from the band and their seemingly endless associated acts. We’re letting ourselves hope that things are back to normal by the time the 2021 edition rolls around, and we can’t wait to see them play the songs off Landlady there.

You can purchase Landlady on limited edition vinyl via Bandcamp. The album is also available on all streaming platforms, including Spotify. Keep up with the band by following them on Instagram and Twitter and liking them on Facebook. Stay tuned, as Adam Schatz will be appearing on the podcast in the coming weeks!