Billy Dechand composes mellifluous, intelligent pop. While he hails from indie-soaked Chapel Hill, he doesn't seem to fit in all that well with that region's indiot jet set. Dechand's songs have a mature feel that distinguishes them from most of his co-regionalists. Maybe this is the kind of music that indie folks will make when they start to get a little older, grayer and less self-conscious.
Dechand's instrumentation consists of the standard guitar, drums and bass setup, but also includes strings, analogue keys and occasional violins. The recording style always borders on minimalism. When the violin, guitar and drums are dancing around each other it still feels sparse, reminding one of that roomy quality of recording that Pedro the Lion was able to achieve on their previous full-length.
The songs on Hocus Pocus are reminiscent of The Loud Family or Zumpano; they're also remarkably similar to the work of Nick Lowe and, in a more syndicalist direction, early Talking Heads. But Dechand is not an easy musician to categorize. He brings together a variety of influences that merge pop with more sophisticated jazz and folk arrangements. Some of the songs, like "Don't Worry", are a case in point. This tune has the rudimentary structure of a pop song, but leads you through some pleasingly eccentric turns. Occasionally Dechand's "freedom of the spirit" melodies take some getting used to (as do some of Dechand's fatuous, non-sequitur lyrics). The more novelty-styled songs, notably "Sassafras, Arugula and Mint," are fairly embarrassing. Dechand is at his best when he combines quirkiness with engaging melodies. For example, on "2:00" Dechand channels the talking singer, Jonathan Richman, with a dash of melancholy and a sprinkling of desperation. "Under the Tree" is also particularly absorbing, with the bucolic-prog feel of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci or Syd Barrett (although it doesn't obtain that level of enchantment that the latter artists reached). In the end, regardless of the shortcomings on Hocus Pocus, Dechand's songwriting skills easily compensate for any deficiencies.
