I’ll start with the elephant in the room. Somehow, hour+ albums regularly find their way into my lap. Sometimes they’re classics (Attalus, The Felix Culpa, and Adjy to name a few). Other times, they’re spotty and could have been whittled back a few tracks for a more polished effort (sorry, Sufjan). But, in theory, I like the long-format LP. Give me a story. Show me your best. Throw weird instruments and character subplots at me. I’m all here for it.

Ambergrove’s debut is one such ambitious record: 15 tracks of genre-bending pop that features a global cast. Now, this global cast might be only a bit beyond the scope of many bands’ ideas of a world tour, but even outside the guest features, it’s clear that the rhythms, choice of instruments, and even productions nuances have crossed the seas a few times. The primary flavor is still Western, but think of ILYAABH as musical texmex. You can taste the spices clearly, but the dish itself still feels family. After one of my first listens of the album, I described it as umami pop. I’m not a foodie by any stretch, but I can’t help feel that this does serve as a good label.

But what does it sound like?

Simplify saying it’s an amalgamation tells little about what it is. You could, for instance, throw raw chicken and beets in a blender and drink it (please don’t). ILYAABH is unpretentiously progressively, jumping between the disco flavor of “stills” to the groove-heavy African-flavored “eleuthera”. “waiting muzak” is, well, muzak. Autotune can range from tasteful to experimental levels that rival Imogen Heap. And “weird” is certainly not an insult; lyrics on the aforementioned “eleuthera” even state, “I think I’m too weird and that is my immunity. There’s violin, banjo, synths, samples, vocals in multiple languages, and even a children’s choir. The full list of personnel exceeds 20 individual names, a feat that is rare for an album that isn’t inherently orchestral. And while some of these individuals only appear for a single verse or solo, the album feels a lot like a big party of sorts. Much like an actual party, individual conversations develop naturally. Maybe one person only gets a short greeting. Maybe two folks haven’t spoken in a decade and catch up a bit more. But it’s all happening in the same venue at the same time. Despite its diversity, there’s a consistency on these songs. How can RUSHA’s k pop work alongside the likes of harmonica, beat boxing, and pedal steel? It’s because project lead Anton Kellner is the clique-breaking kid who is somehow able to get all of these disparate personalities into the same room.

Early Ambergrove releases were more abstract. “augustine #415” and consequent singles like “lØve!” are interesting, but they’re not the kind of songs I would send most of my friends. They’re best appreciated by other musicians and producers. But ILYAABH is immediately more accessible for the casual listener, all without forsaking the careful production.

Take “stills”: a stick-driven drum beat builds beneath soft string arrangements before blooming into a synthesizer-and-falsetto laden chorus. The violin builds throughout the song, leading toward an incredible solo toward the end of the track. It continues to be my favorite track, and it’s a clear choice as a single.

“big morning” is yet another single, and it finds its final place as the first track on the record. It’s always critical to set the right energy for opening and closing tracks, and the responsibility gets distributed a bit more evenly on longer albums. Thankfully, Ambergrove starts strong and manages to pace the record with precision. “big morning” starts off with acoustic guitar before quickly ramping things up with added electric guitar and bass. Everyone always says to listen on good speakers/headphones, but the use of three-dimensional space is the perfect polish on top of an already-strong track and you won’t want to miss the full experience.

Of course, both of these songs fall early in the record. It’s not enough to simply start strong. “garden wine” is another single which manages to give a taste (no pun intended, I promise this is not all just a food and drink metaphor) of yet another chapter of the album. The video, featuring a Sufjan-if-he-listened-to-rap angel hoodie costume, a TV PG logo only people born in the 1900s will recognize, and the kind of psychedelic editing reminiscent of early YouTube, serves as an interesting companion to a song that also has its fair share of quirks. “I’m borderline crazy,” Kellner notes, amid plenty of visual proof of his dwindling sanity. But since when has any perfectly sane person done anything interesting? The combination of accordion with octave-shifted vocals is definitely on the stranger side of the Ambergrove spectrum, and the track lacks the fullness that is pervasive on the album.

But what early listeners won’t see is its place between two mid-record highlights. “eleuthera” precedes it, and it’s another personal favorite. It’s a percussive number that blends a traditional kit with programmed drums and auxiliary instruments. The guitar lines are bright, almost beachy, and the vibe of the song is appropriately-Caribbean (the track’s namesake is an island in the Bahamas).

“garden wine” is followed by “slow yield”, a track that begins as a ballad of vocal harmonies and a lyrical callback to early-album track “(DOOMED)” (which, interestingly, was planned to be near the end of the album). But then flute-like synths and dirty digital bass usher in a sound you might expect from a DJ set. The build isn’t quite as satisfying as I’d like it to be, but I definitely appreciate the attempt.

The progression of the album is certainly notable; in some ways, it reminds me of Hotel of the Laughing Tree’s Faraway Friends, where the front half sees more of the conventional singles and the latter half is a bit more experimental. In the case of Ambergrove, it’s not even necessarily weird gimmicks. It just seems that the energy simmers off a bit. There are fewer drums and more ballads (in fact, “blvd”, “healing+”, and “lifeafter/horizon” are the only tracks with full drum arrangements after “slow yield”, though there’s a basic beat thrown in on “autumn stars”). While there are some early-album counterparts like “recessive” and “montana”, the drumming shines so brightly that it feels necessary for the full Ambergrove formula. This does weirdly make the final two tracks hit even harder, but the pocket of simpler, less dense arrangements does seem to divide the album into two movements.

However, the album ends on a very strong note. “healing+” shimmers with opening horns as lyrics speak to the simplicity of love shown through loved ones greeting each other at airports. There’s some degree of chamber pop influence here, mixed with alt-country and soft rock. The guitar melodies, like much of the album, dance around in a beautiful pirouette. There’s a lot going on, but Ambergrove never makes it feel overwhelming.

“lifeafter/horizon” is the big closer. It starts with stomp-and-clap percussion, whirring synths, and punchy bass. Soon, the drums speed up and scramble a bit and the string arrangements enter – both staccato and melodic. This quickly shifts to a Bruce Hornsby-flavored piano and vocal segment that breaks into into glitchy synths and spiraling electric guitars. The craziness never gets too out of hand, and the track resolves back to its piano base before fading out. It’s a strong effort, but I can’t help feel Ambergrove could have gone even more wild. This isn’t heavy album and the current format of the track is undeniable tasteful, but this feels like the kind of project where nothing is off limits. Put in some amp feedback or delay trails. Go full-in with the electronics. It seems like an idea is teased yet never made entirely manifest.

All in all, even with some of these critiques, ILYAABH has been one of my most anticipated albums of the year and will likely remain a favorite at the point I write my yearly recap. Some albums are perfect; others are a bit more mixed but have enough anchor tracks to keep people listening. This is certainly the later; the first half is where the singles are all and it certainly feels top-heavy in some respect. Even the ballads, like “montana”, seem more interesting on Side A. Tracks like “stills” and “eleuthera” are capable of carrying the album through its weaker moment with ease, but just because tracks like “autumn stars” and “cimabue” aren’t as full, that doesn’t suggest they’re immediate skips. Ambergrove is capable of stripping back the layers and still leaving behind the silhouette of a compelling track. And by the time the record hits its end, listeners will pass through two final highlights. Lyrically, the album is a bit cryptic, sometimes laced with humor or unnerving metaphors (like the organ harvesting on “healing+”). But somewhere beneath these poetic musings is a clear theme of human connectivity – a theme lived out through the album’s roster of performers.

Check out he album everywhere on 5/2.