For an album that isn't too much of any one thing, I'm surprised by how much of it actually grabbed me. The saxophones in opener "Shot Shot" sounds like a basic homage to Morphine, and "Rex Kramer" sounds like the type of eclectic indie that WXRT likes. The title track finally puts away the gimmicks for a straightforward, expressive folk dirge,and "Even Song" is a solid alternative swinger, if a little mid-90's. "Ruff Stuff"**** starts a rock solid string of songs, punctuated by a jarring keyboard loop. The spacey "Army Dub"**** and heavily arpeggiated "Miles End"**** are at the more britpop end, and the pretty chords of "1000 Times"**** give way to a build borrowed from Spiritualized. But "Sound Of Sounds"**** is all about the soaring vocal harmonies, capturing the timeless pop songwriting of Big Star's first album. The album winds down to the "Ballad Of Nice & Easy", which is easy to imagine if you imagine it was written in the 70's. Kind of a throwaway, but at least it doesn't advertise falsely as it blends into the average summertime rock mix.
Comments