THINK LIKE A KEY MUSIC

Liverpool's Novelty Island's 2021 debut album shines as a collection of pleasant, quasi-psychedelic retro pop tunes written, composed, and conceptualized by Thomas McConnell. From the jangle pop of Jangleheart to the alt-psych Michael Afternoon and faux country-western romp Cowboy On A Bicycle, the album feels altogether 'other' yet is cloaked in a blanket of familiarity. With delicious melodies, harmonies, and production, How Are You Coping With This Century? is crisscrossed with cello, harmonium, horns, and banjo. An engine of seemingly random parts that purrs with cultured reliability.