I’m not really one to compare one band to another too often, but I have to admit that the opening song on Waco, Texas band Quiet, Lovely’s new album, Automata, Musica, "Saturday Night", brings me the same smile of musical discovery that arrived on my face while listening to Death Cab for Cutie’s Something About Airplanes. While comparisons to fellow Texans Matt and Bubba Kadane undoubtedly have some merit to them — especially on the tracks "Overambitious" and "Thick as Thieves" — Quiet, Lovely create music all their own.

Automata, Musica manages to sit slightly on the lo-fi side of the fence without shouting about it as some sort of rallying cry for credibility. Instead, Quiet, Lovely focuses on creating songs based on a symmetric rhythm pattern — this attention to symmetry is reflected in the artwork as well with front and back covers presented as mirror images — and layer upon layer of sound. Whether it is a guitar line or backing vocal harmony, every note seems to maintain equal importance in the carefully crafted collage of sound that could easily be described as hypnotic; one listen to the closing track "No Worries" should demonstrate this point.

Although one could sit for hours and analyze the symmetry throughout the album, I’d like to share with you that I find Automata, Musica at its best when it is simply enjoyed with the ears and without the music theory book. While the music isn’t always completely quiet, it is guaranteed to be lovely throughout each listen.