Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Intentionally or not, Minnesota quintet Plagiarists veritably ooze indie-hipness on their self-released sophomore album Literal Scene.  The album is just over 35 minutes of subdued alterna-pop that impresses without intimidating.

Through some research I gleaned that the theme of Literal Scene is Midwestern life, a point of view the Plagiarists felt was sorely lacking from the modern music scene. In theory, that might not seem like the most dynamic subject matter, but in practice, it led to an album of interesting and elaborate melodies that are meant to impart the emotion of the band’s home.

Prior to recording this album, band mates Eric Wilson (guitar, vocals), Davis Wille (guitar), Mikael Witte (bass, vocals), Blake Wergeland (drums) and Brendan Golle (keys, vocals) were all said to have studied abroad for a year. That travel no doubt introduced the band to different types of music and instrumentation that they then funneled into Literal Scene. In fact, each track on the album has so many layers of sound that it often overshadows the restrained calm of the singing and lyrics.

There are quite a few songs that stand out from the album, each entertaining in their own right. Something’s Missing channels the melancholy and intricate melodies of a Smiths song (think “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want”). The repetitive chords of Pockets so easily drew me in that when the song jarringly ended (at exactly two minutes) it was a surprising disappointment.

Really then, Literal Scene is an album that attempts to marry the rigor of Midwest life with an ambitious indie rock sound. Plagiarists’ managed to create a record that’s comfortably familiar but not too derivative and, most importantly, a pleasure to listen to.