Casper And The Cookies (MySpace) are an interesting bunch. Modern Silence demonstrates their agility in creating bizarre pop songs in the vein of early Of Montreal and Apples In Stereo, the Elephant 6 entourage, and underground glam pop. While front-man Jason NeSmith had a brief stint in Of Montreal, it should be noted that Casper And The Cookies were already in existence, and had been, for nearly half a decade.

So the sound mixes that highly infectious and awkward lo-fi, key heavy sound of e6 pop; it always has. Modern Silence finds the band effectively translating this sound into their own with the intense “Little Kings”, the melodic pop of “You Love Me”, and the catchy guitar riffs of “Sharp!”. This continues throughout the album in tracks like the bouncy “Eulogy For Marcel Marsalis”; even ballads such as “Your Eyes Are Gold” and closer “I Am Gone” find a unique place on the album.

Still, tracks like “Peter Erchick Bicentennial Service Area” may be a bit of a stretch for some. This song features Kay Stanton on lead vocals and her pointed vocals differentiate the song a bit more than one would expect given her noteworthy backing vocals in other tracks. Stanton makes a more than viable comeback in tracks like “Sunshine Girl”.

Modern Silence is long. The album has a full 18 tracks that clock in at an impressive 68 and a half minutes. But for pop fans, this merely means there is more to enjoy. And in that sense Casper And The Cookies delivers wholeheartedly.

Casper And The Cookies: Little King [mp3]

Happy Happy Birthday To Me [CD, 2009]

1. Little Kings
2. You Love Me
3. Pete Erchick Bicentennial Service Area
4. Sharp!
5. Song Across The Sea
6. Little Lady Larva
7. Cloud Of Bees
8. Moldy Flower
9. Meredith
10. New Day Zero
11. Nagoya
12. Keep Talking
13. Sunshine Girl
14. Eulogy For Marcel Marsalis
15. Chocolate Cake And Coffee
16. I Am Happy
17. Your Eyes Of Gold
18. I Am Gone