Labels: Fictionband Mechanics
Review by: james pacanowski
Have you ever heard The Smithereens cover of I Want To Hold Your Hand? That is pretty much this album. A valiant attempt to nick a few Beatles melodies and parcel them off in an indie-pop package. It draws pretty heavily from the touchstones of Matthew Sweet and Velvet Crush, all pleasant harmonies and warm guitar lines.
The main issue is that it is a bit wet and sometimes just plain limp: the magnificently titled ‘Bourbon Skies’ hints at grizzled, drunken misery but is a just a weak, plodding number; ‘Suckerpunch the Odometer’ also has a title that suggests something other than a fairly bland slow-strummer but is instead just that. There are some sweet pop nuggets on here also though, and for the most part these peaks make up for the the troughs: ‘Pinkies’ is blushing, downbeat indie-pop that resembles a slightly twangier Dinomania; ‘Lights On’ is a lazy, surfy number – not in a Real Estate sort of way unfortunately, but enjoyable nevertheless; the soft, prickling pop of ’81 Sun’ might be the highlight, the guitars taking their cues from The Sea And Cake.
This is not the most exhilarating take on powerpop (see Goodnight Loving for that) and anyone who wants their indie to have a little bit of bite to it are probably best advised to stay clear. Anyone who has been known to enjoy The Posies might dig this however. You’ll probably feel a little unclean afterwards though, and may want to listen to some Born Against just to ensure you don’t turn into a big, quivering blacmange.