Magically delicious

Anyone who’s seen The Delicious will be asking the same question about their new EP: Does it live up to vocalist David Woodruff’s mustache?

Woodruff almost certainly has the best mustache in Bloomington, and The Delicious are almost certainly one of the town’s coolest bands. “When I’m near Dave Woodruff, I’m intimidated by his coolness,” my roommate said to me last week at The Delicious’ Total Trash Tuesday show.

With the live energy the band plays off each other and their audience, it’s hard not to get caught up in their coolness. Their new EP Postcards to my Sewing Circle doesn’t capture that coolness or energy, but it’s charming and witty enough that after a few listens this recorded version of The Delicious is almost as enjoyable as their live counterpart.

Postcards to my Sewing Circle balances all the band’s elements, from the swerving synthesizers to the introspective vocals to the drums and bass that complement the group’s parts without overpowering them.

The jangly, rhythmic guitars and harmonic instrumentals also bring out their playful mood.

One of the most memorable parts of the EP is Woodruff’s lyrics. They’re arty and intelligent and enigmatic enough to keep you coming back to them but not so enigmatic as to mean almost anything.

In “Accelerated Dickery,” possibly the EP’s most memorable song, Woodruff sings: “I nearly cracked, I nearly cracked the window to yell at a pretty girl/ I wouldn’t call myself that kind of guy: I wouldn’t call myself short for Richard.”

Despite the band’s terrific chemistry, however, Postcards to my Sewing Circle suffers from its flat production. I know a local part-time act like The Delicious can’t do fancy production work, but a little direction about which elements to highlight would have gone a long way. It sounds like they went into the studio and recorded the same way they play live.

But most of those holes left by the lack of production can be filled by brainpower after a few listens. Postcards to my Sewing Circle might not be as cool as Woodruff’s mustache, but their EP shows The Delicious has the potential to be just as memorable.