This week, in my lunch break while working from home, I took the sophomore Rural France album Exactamondo! for a walk. Hearing Tom Brown ask on the first track “Would you mind if I tag along?” would have been creepy, if not for his voice – kind and filled with humility, and the music – warm and inviting. After listening to the rest of the record, I can highly recommend bringing Exactamondo! along on your next neighborhood stroll, roadtrip or commute. It will undoubtly enhance the experience.
I don’t think Tom Brown (also of Teenage Tom Petties) and Rob Fawkes ever intended Rural France to become a multiple releases kinda project. In fact, their debut album felt serendipitous, an outlier by two modest human beings underestimating the power and appeal of their songwriting. Brown and Fawkes resemble the cool kids sitting at the back of the class, casually messing around and cracking jokes, yet quietly talented and hardworking with untapped potential. Exactamondo! proves their debut album RF was no fluke while also demonstrating an increase in their confidence and skill level.
Exactamondo! (which I keep saying out loud because it rolls off the tongue so nicely) is a loose, spontaneous and edgy lo-fi blend of influences including Guided By Voices, Lemonheads, Teenage Fanclub and more recently Connections, but ultimately very much its own distinct kind of jangly, fuzzy slacker power pop. While I loved RF, Exactamondo! sounds more coherent, more consistent and more accomplished overall. Its laid-back charm, musical sincerity and sweet rockin’ melodies puts me in a state of silent relaxation and approval, one that comes eerily close to that one Nick Offerman gif.
Exactamondo! is out now on vinyl at Meritorio.