Man, I can’t begin to tell you the many steps it took for The Atudes’ debut album Rumor Has It to end up in my mailbox! Let’s just say there is some fortunate person in east Ames who was lucky enough find an advance copy of the record in their mailbox. So I will write this review from that auspicious soul’s perspective:

Dear Diary, I had a great day today. I went to my mailbox and to my surprise I found no bills and a CD by this band from Des Moines called The Atudes. The album is called Rumor Has It. I’m going to be honest: this is one of the finest debut albums I have heard in years. The songwriting and song structures are refined and exciting. Lyrically the songs are nostalgic and sentimental, touching on multiple musical styles from piano rock and twee all the way to psychedelic and mod posturings that have not dominated the rock world since 1967.

So in other words, the Atudes sound like nothing else from 2010. The songs on this album are perfect mix-tape material and will fit into anyone’s summer soundtrack. The 11 tracks which comprise Rumor Has It are at their core simple love songs. Under their ironic surface, The Atudes’ lyrics possess a disarming sweetness which perfectly complements the band’s buoyant melodies. From the barn burning Nuggets-like party opener, “Baby Stay,” to the beautiful Phil Spector-esque “The Vulture,” to piano laden Kinks-like jam “Homesick Blues,” to the beautiful Stevie Wonder-like closer “Thank You,” this warm and soulful album is highly recommended. If only everyone was as fortunate as I was to find this in my mailbox! Good night diary. Thanks to The Atudes, today was a good day!