It's been three long years of tragedy and triumph since the sugary pop debut from The Aeronautical Legends (Rocketeer), and the wait is finally over. A Midwestern Autumn, the sophomore record from The Aeronautical Legends, is filled with songs showcasing the same style of masterful songwriting, yet possessing a tighter lyrical prowess and slightly darker production that makes for a very engaging and exciting listen.
Recorded entirely at home, A Midwestern Autumn is an homage according to The Aeronautical Legends' braintrust Joshua Dennison. The twenty-nine year old lifetime resident of Ohio has written ten new songs strongly influenced by the entire alt-country scene about coming of age in the Midwest. There's fear in ?Fall Semester? and joyous love in ?Thrity-First of May,? but it's the album's more desperate leanings that carry the most weight. In ?Natural Disasters,? Dennison both wittingly and honestly declares ?Like a sailor on leave with the last case of scurvy / Your handshakes alone are completely unnerving,? or with even more yearning the Cure-esque ?Honestly,? where he pleads to ?speak to me in tongues so I can lie right back to you.?
A Midwestern Autumn by The Aeronautical Legends is really a work of art. Plenty of production tricks to make headphone fanatics squeal with delight, and artwork that really fits the emotion that is so carefully crafted within. However, it's not any of these things that make this record so stunning. A Midwestern Autumn is a brave and fantastic new piece of Americana- ten brilliantly written heart-on-your-sleeve songs given an honest presentation. So close your eyes, imagine a cloudy fall evening and enjoy The Aeronautical Legends' A Midwestern Autumn, beginning to end.