Labels: Data Was Lost
Review by: MH
This is indie poppers’ The Minor Leagues latest concept album. This one is about the lead singer’s hometown, North College Hill, after which the album is named. Having previously only heard their last single which I reviewed recently, this album confirms that they are more than adept at writing catchy pop songs. It’s quite a nostalgic sounding album and lyrically bittersweet at times with boy/girl vocals interchanging and harmonising throughout. The sound is very clean with keyboards, glockenspiels and very clean guitar work. They do their finest Belle and Sebastian impression on a couple of the tracks “” notably, “Please Don’t Throw My Love Away” and “Sister”. However, it would be harsh to say that they are just Belle and Sebastian clones as they do have some variation. Pulp and the “80s would also appear to be major influences and they do have some strong pop songs on here. The track “1985 Forever” should surely be a popular choice with DJs running “80s discos across the country with its nostalgic sentiment and singalong chorus. “Secret Codes” is probably the best pop song on here but, as is typical of myself, my favourite track is the most miserable and melancholy one (“Home”) which ends the album. Its repeated refrain of “You can’t go home/There is no home” makes for a nice, bleak ending to a well-crafted album. I will end this review on a similar note to my review of their single by saying that they should really be having big hits.