I’m not one to judge a book by it’s cover, but I will decide what to read based on what the back cover says; a song called “Oprah, God Wants You To Have A Private Jet” was more than enough to entice me to listen to Scott Lanaway’s Mergers and Acquistions. The album is full of spacey electro-folk, one of those new, hard-to-classify sounds your iTunes gives up on and calls “alternative and punk.”

The opening track “Let’s Be Together” is boring, but kind of catchy. In fact, a lot of this album is boring but kind of catchy. “Gabapentin,” is almost psychedelic with its background harmonies and chirping bird noises. It sounds like we don’t hear Lanaway’s real, bare-bones voice until track six, “Juliet of The Spirits,” though he does have a nice Robert Plant thing going on in “Wild Eyes.”

The album features a lot of the same: layered vocals and synth intermingling, which creates an ominous feel. This is true of “1333,” “Mind Off The Blue,” “Wild Eyes,” “The Ice Storm,” and “All Our Yesterdays,” – a third of the album right there.

Mergers and Acquisitions isn’t lively or poppy, but it does have its moments. Unfortunately, these moments are far too few to make the album worthwhile, unless you’re looking for some background music for your next massage or bubble bath.