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Attempting to construct a simultaneously diverse and great record is a gamble. For it to work, the band must come up with not just one good, sustainable idea but a whole bundle, and then go about arranging complements and contradictions in a coherent but provocative way. Pulling this off isn't easy, which is why props go to Eternal Summers for going all-in with the smart, multi-faceted Correct Behavior. The second full-length from the Roanoke trio (our Virginia pick in last year's Phoenix 50 Bands 50 States issue) contains vulnerable, melancholy Matador/Sub Pop–style '90s indie rock ("Millions"), a slow and woozy torch song ("Good As You"), an elated surf-pop dance party with many a tender "Ooh-wooh-wooh-wooh" ("I Love You"), and, bizarrely, a cold interlude with drummer Daniel Cundiff doing talky, morose vocals like he's in some old art-punk or early emo act ("Girls in the City"). Sonically, Behavior sounds a little like the Pixies' Doolittle, but the two records also share a fiendishly liberated, unpredictable spirit. Nearly every song delivers. Behavior isn't likely to be a Doolittle-like classic, but no biggie. This album marks a promising band moving from really good to almost-great, and being here to witness Summers' prime is a prize in itself.
