Tiny Dots – Yarn Owl

Pullman, Washington’s Yarn Owl is like a nice young gentleman – the kind you’d bring home to meet mom: clean cut, well read, gainfully-employed. You know Yarn Owl is not going to leave you for the hot new secretary or blow all your savings on a weekend trip to Vegas.

The group’s latest effort, Tiny Dots (released as a limited edition cassette tape by local tape label, Leftist Nautical Antiques), is chock-full of soft coos and un-abrasive instrumentation. The crafting of each tune is compositionally spot-on, each track brimming with indie sensibilities. Javier Suarez’s vocals are invitingly relaxed and unthreatening, matching the delicate scene his bandmates set up around him. But despite this, the album lacks a driving passion or gripping hook, allowing Tiny Dots to almost wash over the listener and fade right into the walls. Maybe the track “Without You” will elicit some calm toe tapping, but that’s about as engaging as it gets.