Key Tracks: "Death's Hand," "The Water is Wide"

The MySpace of St. Louis quartet Theodore lists the band’s genres as, and I quote, “death metal/showtunes/Western swing.” Do not be fooled by this declaration as I was when I first visited the band’s MySpace; Theodore is anything but those three genres.

Hold You Like a Lover, the band’s third album, finds Theodore sharpening their skill and tightening their sound, crafting charismatic alt-country and folk tunes that are easy both on the ears and the mind. The band, labelmate to Athens mainstays Southeast Engine, has produced a real winner with this album. Theodore comes off as perhaps an odd cross between Fleet Foxes and Mumford & Sons, mixing pleasant folk harmonies and acoustic instruments ranging from banjos to harmonicas.

More than anything, Hold You Like a Lover sounds like a throwback to the simpler days of music, to the folk and acoustic sounds of the mid-20th century and on—music that would leave the Dylans, the Youngs and the Taylors bobbing their heads in approval. As if Theodore were totally cognizant of this, a rendition of the oft-covered folk custom “The Water is Wide” is included, no doubt a standout on this album. It’s an a cappella version of the tune, showing off not only frontman Justin Kinkel-Schuster’s satisfying vocal sensibility but the rest of the band’s ability to harmonize admirably. Judging by this song in particular, Theodore could release an entire a cappella album and I, for one, would not be too dissatisfied at all.

Hold You Like a Lover is not an a cappella album, though. Theodore exemplifies on the rest of the album’s 10-song tracklist that they know how to play their instruments pretty well, too. J.J. Harmon and Andy Lashier are no doubt the most interesting of the four in this respect, the former switching between guitar, harmonica and accordion almost effortlessly while the latter provides electric and upright bass, keyboard and even some brass. Jason Torbitzky is the quintessential folk drummer, providing driving percussion that never, ever rises above or stands out over the rest of the music.

The musicianship of the four members of Theodore melds together perfectly on Hold You Like a Lover, providing country-tinged, twangy tunes with thoughtful lyrics. “Death’s Hand,” the penultimate song on the album, is a perfect example of this—and then some. It’s six-plus minutes of distortion, noise and ominous vocals and lyrics with an underlying folk awareness, surging and building into a final climactic wall of sound that does not cease until the first steel guitar notes of closer “Send My Love” are uttered.

Theodore is not at the peak yet, but Hold You Like a Lover certainly heaves them onto the right track. The foursome, also buoyed by a rave-worthy appearance at last year’s South By Southwest festival, should no doubt receive a new-fangled slew of support and followers due to this album. Hold You Like a Lover should vault Theodore out of St. Louis and into the national mindset. And national exposure would be certainly deserved.