Statistics

The merest mention of Omaha, Nebraska is enough to make most indie rock fans salivate because of one man — Conor Oberst. So the thought of a new side project by a member of Desaparecidos is like a dream come true for many people. But before you get a little too excited, the member of Desaparecidos in question is Denver Dalley. Don’t get too depressed though because Dalley did co-write the songs on Read Music/Speak Spanish, so it isn’t quite the anticlimax that it might initially appear. Statistics is very much Dalley’s own project — it doesn’t sound a whole lot like his previous band, and that alone could scare some people away. Yet over the duration of five songs, he manages to touch upon a wealth of influences such as Stereolab, National Skyline, New Order and Talk Talk. That should imply that there’s a heavy reliance on electronics, although when he does finally dust off his guitar (on "Hours Seemed Like Days” in particular), things sound a lot like Sugar used to. Dalley covers a whole lot of ground for a five-track EP, and while it seems unlikely that he can keep up that frenetic pace on his full-length debut (due at the end of the year), there’s enough talent on display to recommend keeping an eye on Statistics.