Labels: Matinee Recordings
Review by: MH
New music here from a couple of the Popguns (Wendy and Simon Pickles). A duo, then, but they do have some help along the way including a fomer Popguns drummer and their daughter, Anna, providing backing vocals on a couple of the tracks. There’s a Go Betweens cover on here, which is a good indication as to their influences, and also a Christmas song. However, first up is “Still” which is a little more of a departure from The Popguns’ sound than was the case with The Perfect English Weather’s debut album last year. This first track has something electronica about it with keyboard prominent from the off. “Christmas in Suburbia” does too and is a melancholy Christmas track – the first few lines of which will have you dreaming of a shopping trip to Hamleys in 1995, while “Cold Out” is a touch on the moody side. The Go Betweens cover closes things out and is a pretty and threadbare acoustic version of “Dusty In Here”. I think with Wendy and Simon Pickles involved this will always sound like The Popguns but there’s more electronica about this one and I’m inclined to agree with the St. Etienne references in the blurb on the label’s website. Nice.