Kevin Bronson on January 25th, 2011

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As evidenced on “The Year of Magical Drinking,” the new album by Apex Manor released today on Merge, songwriter Ross Flournoy doesn’t turn pop music into brain surgery. It can be hard on the heart, though, and Flournoy’s first post-Broken West outing effectively tugs those strings with effortless melodies and a plain-spoken sincerity that’ll settle any stomachs upset by today’s steady diet of cynicism and irony. The video for “My My Mind,” directed by Jonathan Singer-Vine (cousin of band member Adam Vine) and shot by Rob Witt, finds our protagonist seeking healing in the desert, which, I surmise, proves no salve for the wounds inflicted by the ages-old battle between head and heart.

||| Previously: An interview with Flournoy and a download of “Under the Gun.”

||| Live: Apex Manor plays Feb. 12 at the Satellite.