Kapowski’s “Boy Detective”

The Oakland-based Kapowski has spent several years making ambitious home recordings and developing a small but fervid audience for a growing catalog of idiosyncratic pop songs. Lead singer and songwriter Jesse Rimler is influenced by a broad spectrum of classic songwriters, from early masters George Gershwin and Harold Arlen to Ray Davies and Van Dyke Parks.

Kapowski has taken a big step forward with its new record Boy Detective, a culmination of these years of experimentation. Recorded by Eli Crews (tUnE-yArDs’ w h o k i l l, Beulah), it is a rich and varied pop album: a set of tightly-constructed songs buoyed by horns, strings and vocal harmonies. Most striking is the sound of the quartet itself -- an unusual guitar-less lineup of piano, organ, bass and drums, featuring members of the avant-jazz group BEEP. On the driving “Section Eight,” massive, stuttering drums, a spry bassline, scratchy organ and a mesmeric piano line lay the bed for Rimler’s wistful vocals.