The Yale Spizzwinks(?) have been around for over a century, and while I haven't been listening to them quite that long, after five albums in seventeen years, I have a pretty good sense of what to expect from them with each new recording.

That they rarely deviate from or defy those expectations is a bit of a mixed bag.

Knowing the controlled, glee club-esque sound that the group naturally leans toward, a quick look at the track list immediately triggers some early thoughts.

(My brain): "Misty … well, yeah … that seems like it should be right in these folks' wheelhouse. Ditto for Remember Me and Beautiful City. Don't Know Why? OK, I can see that. Maybe even I Want it That Way, too. Wonder if they'll actually do anything with them or just sing 'em all nice and pretty."

And you know what? Those songs are indeed in their wheelhouse and they do indeed sing them all nice and pretty.

Alas, those renditions are also entirely as expected; unsurprising, and ultimately, uninspiring. They are both perfectly satisfactory and utterly unremarkable. Seemingly the same as a myriad of others that have been heard through the years.

(My brain again): "Whoa … wait a second … a song from tUnE-y-A-rDs? Some Silk Sonic? Marianas Trench? Is this wise? We've been let down in the past when this gang tries their throats at funkier, quirkier material. Skeptical/hopeful all at the same time."

And you know what? I'm glad The Spizzwinks(?) keep trying stuff like this because sometimes it actually works very well. Leave the Door Open is — I'll admit surprisingly, for me — the overall highlight of the whole album, aided immeasurably by the raw, gutsy, reckless abandon kind of solo from Alex Lawson that this group rarely, if ever, offers. Indeed, the "square"-ness and stitled formality of so many of the other solosts featured on Mind the Gap is that much more bothersome and disappointing when listening to Lawson give us his best Bruno.

Bizness is less successful, though the arrangement (thankfully) has a palpable point of view in taking a healthy rhythmic but only meanderingly melodic sound and translating it for voice. I had higher hopes for Who Do You Love, but the arrangement in this instance by John Paciga is so paint-by-numbers that even a foot-stomping interlude in the back half couldn't quicken my pulse. Pink + White is maybe the most misguided effort offered here — another meandering song that's really more about "feel" than anything, and Adrian Kyle Venzon's effort to shoehorn it into a more classic 'winks sort of arrangement and straight-ahead performance, as well as the very dry and tightly mic'd recording and a decided lack of blend, don't do the group any favors.

The other highlight is — again, surprisingly — The Impossible Dream from Man of La Mancha. And no, I can't believe I just typed that. But this is what the group does best when it's firing on all cylinders and what I wish we could see more of, more consistently. Equal parts classic repertoire and subverting expectations. This is NOT your parents' or your grandparents' The Impossible Dream. This one swings; this one cooks; this one morphs several times over the course of an under-five-minute tune. Does it all work seamlessly? No. (And the same can be said of Stop This Train). But it stakes out a creative point of view and owns it. So even if it's only 85% successful, it's still refreshing and interesting and entertaining to see them try.

I was only waitlisted at Yale all those years ago so I certainly don't get to tell this group what to do. But if I ran the zoo — to borrow from Dartmouth's Dr. Seuss — I'd love to see the 'winks continue to venture off the beaten path, less so with their choice of repertoire and more so with their interpretive choices of the repertoire they already tend to do well. They were founded as a light-hearted alternative to the (perceived-as-stodgy) Whiffenpoofs and at least for me, that's when they are most likely to shine.

Mind the Gap could easily be the second volume of this group's last submission, Chasing Lights. Both names are travel-y and everything. Plus, the works feature an identical architectural blueprint: old-timey songs leaning into flashy modern hits, incredibly clean singing infused with admirable musicality on every darn track, and a jukebox jam for everybody who wants to listen. Same setup, new year. A slightly lower score, though, because a bit more material feels like filler, and there's no knockout track like Imagine. Years later, and I'm still thinking about Imagine … could magic cast its spell like that again? It didn't on this trip.

The Spizzwinks(?) open with some flexin'. Bizness is a funky, rhythm-driven exercise in groovin'. "I'll say, 'doo doo doo doo doo'" indeed. This opening complements the next track well: Leave the Door Open is a swanky, sophisticated r&b exposition. Love the loud and proud natural dynamics against the light touch on the falsetto lead. Sounds effortless but tough to work across all these registers as an ensemble.

Misty makes an appearance. Yes, the iconic, finger-snappin', crowd-swaying crooner song, delivered in 2022 with a nice showcase of leads. I'm sure this lands wonderfully at gigs. I'm enchanted by the soundscape of Don't Know Why, which is beautifully produced and presented. Terrific dynamics, and elegant cymbals. I'm quite certain I've never written "elegant cymbals", but the Spizzwinks(?) still have surprises after all these years. More strong musicianship plus a dash of spunkiness pops through on Who Do You Love. So far, I'm entertained.

Pink + White isn't as captivating. Plodding with nearly spoken-word singing and carbon copy percussion, it feels out of place on our journey. And I'm not sure what to do with Interlude from a scoring perspective; it features a short burst of train station audio with the signature "mind the gap" message. It's a touch of personality, but it's also filler. Also less memorable: Remember Me and Drops of Jupiter. Both have merits, but neither stays with me.

If the Spizzwinks(?) get one thing reliably right, it's putting out vocal-forward music. This is a singing group, and you won't forget it through the production or tricks or techniques offered. Beautiful City demonstrates this ably: these are studied and rehearsed musicians, not just a campus group put together for extracurricular kicks. Even though it has mixed results, you can hear this strength on The Impossible Dream, too. Yes, that old, kind of corny, wildly cliché hit gets a new life on Mind the Gap, with a jaunty barbershop feel and even a crackling old radio. It can be a bit much, but the group was bold enough to go for the big update.

The closing tracks on Mind the Gap aren't as interesting as the opening tracks. Foggy needs more life in its bones. And though a literal transcription, I Want it That Way does sound surprisingly soothing with the great Spizzwinks(?) blend and vowel matching; not a bad outcome for boy band source material. Tying the bow, we end with a train song to bring it home.

And so, the legacy of the Spizzwinks(?) continues. While not a must-own album, I've always felt this is a must-know group, so find what you love here.

There's a long and storied history of a cappella music at Yale University, and the Spizzwinks(?) are a delightful part of that culture. The repertoire is a nice mix of old and new, creating what I'd call a "friends and family" album. Mind the Gap is a release that you'd happily show off to your family and they'd be excited to listen to it without becoming overwhelmed by more modern chord structures or more adult themes. There's nothing overly flashy, but it's still pleasant to listen to from top to bottom.

Bizness and Leave the Door Open are the two I would consider the most cutting edge of the entire album, but only in spirit. Both have more complex rhythms and chords. Bizness uses a really cool polyphonic layering of textures. Soloist and arranger Ben Kramer penned a really cool groove and has the performing chops to maintain the pocket even when none of the rhythmic patterns easily highlight beat one in measures. Leave the Door Open is modern smooth jazz pop. Chords are more dense and filled with color notes. Soloist Alex Lawson's voice floats in and out of the performance, delivering power when it's needed and floating over the chords during the higher passages. Together, both pieces show the spectrum of what the Spizzwinks(?) are capable of.

Following these two tracks, the entire tone of the album shifts. The entire sound of the album feels brighter. More importantly, the complexity of rhythms and chords ease up. Consider Don't Know Why. This Nora Jones original is very repetitive and lacks the sort of impact that would demand the listener's attention. Pink + White is similar, as it's very monochromatic. There's a lack of dynamic range that would help accent some sections and help set them apart from others. The middle of the album has a tendency to lose interest and accidentally become background music.

The back of the album starts to right some of the earlier wrongs of the album but has some pacing issues. Drops of Jupiter has a lot more going on throughout the arrangement. There are a number of interesting rhythmic patterns that really help to add depth to the music. Arranger John Paciga added a plethora of little moments throughout the piece to make the music have some interest past the soloist. Stop This Train furthers this attempt to add as many interesting rhythms as possible, but might have gone slightly overboard, as it impedes the natural flow of the song at times.

It feels like the group is trying to find its sound through experimentation and balance simplicity to learn more sonically interesting patterns. There are times on Mind the Gap where the singers find it, and times where more discovery is needed. The overall product doesn't suffer too terribly. If the goal is to remain accessible to all listeners, the group is successful. However, if the goal is to expand the craft and add more immediate appeal to the group's sound, there's still some room to grow.