Aluminum Boys – ‘Collected Pieces’ [Album Review]

San Jose indie-rock duo Aluminum Boys releases their album, Collected Pieces, a collection of songs full of big emotions and knowing winks that let you know that they know too.

Made up of Jared Ottmann and William “Bill” Pence, both originally from Wisconsin and now in California, Aluminum Boys’ Collected Pieces was produced by Paula Kelly and Aaron Tap and features the instinctive, finessed drumming of Sean Hutchinson, who has worked with Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Bleachers. Grammy-winning banjo artist Kyle Tuttle shows up on “Lowlands.”

Comprising 10 tracks, highlights include the opening track, “Common Pleas,” a blend of lo-fi indie-rock, elusive hints of new wave, and classical. At once dark and light, the melody effortlessly shifts textures and colors, forming a lusciously introspective tune.

Simultaneously impish and droll, “Pocahontas, IL” conjures up The Weakerthans and Weezer, offering a candid, Yelp-like review of the quality of life in Pocahontas, IL.

“And those of us who are left / Shoot the shit then shoot pool / You heard Nadine got knocked up / You heard that it’s a boy / She’s another one that’ll never leave Pocahontas, Illinois.”

“favoritE daYs,” floats on shimmering, jangly guitars topped by stoic, slightly melancholic vocals that reveal feelings of emotional weariness and compelling dissatisfaction with the status quo, along with a muted longing for something more.

A personal favorite because of its low-key wit, “Green Texts” travels on darker, rambling Joe Walsh-like guitars as the lyrics relate the shaky relationship between a tech hip woman and an old-school, tech-illiterate man.

“She’s an apple of Silicon Valley / Sleek and always new / He’s an antiquated / Dial-up connection / Anything but cool.”

Aluminum Boys, photo by Jared Ottmann

For some reason, more than likely the honest yet cynical lyrics, “Murphy’s Law” recalls The Offspring – only with stripped-back, sparkly, almost lo-fi, pop-punk flavors.

“Isn’t it amazing how the world keeps spinnin’ / And the birds keep chirpin’ / And the fish keep swimmin’ / All while I hit / Every red light in town.”

The swaying, drifting motion of the closing track, “Sleepless,” gives sonic breath to lyrics describing the cliché-filled, fragile multiplicity of life.

Populated with incisive lyrics and perfectly torqued melodies, Collected Pieces is a provocative meditation on the bizarreness of life.

Collected Pieces Track Listing:

1. Common Pleas
2. A Great Recession
3. Pocahontas, IL
4. favoritE daYs
5. Stories
6. Green Texts
7. October Rose
8. Lowlands
9. Murphy’s Law
10. Sleepless

Run Time: 43:50
Release Date: March 28, 2025
Record Label: Nail Polish Emoji Records