A tremendously catchy, lively, witty, humorous and poignant new LP by the Welsh trio of Sam Willmett, Tilly Harris and Dan Matthew with a terrific toe-tapping indie-rock-pop take on a whole spectrum of human contradictions. Their style is somewhere between The Modern Lovers, The Wave Pictures, and a dash of Dinosaur Jr fuzz rock, flitting nimbly within and between each as well as their own eccentric twists of loud and quiet, but it is particularly the co-lead dynamic of Willmett (vocals/guitar) and Harris (vocals/bass) that brings their own particular brand of magic. On one of the great standouts – How To Be A Confidante – their style is encapsulated in switching between singular and plural pronouns, mixing the personal and universal, taking the lead, and sometimes delivering togeher in verse and chorus, with lyrics such as Willmett: “But I'm a big, strong man, make no mistake / And I′ll break into song/ And when the whammy bar goes/ All of my friends might sing along” with the double-edged chorus line: “If I'm lucky, I′ll never have another friend like you…”, then Harris with the delightfully eccentric: “Lesson two on how to be a confidante/ You tie your shoes in an equilateral nonagon/ And ponder on the meaning of truth, truth! / Lies, lies, lies spouted the butterfly/ That was actually a moth that I dipped in yellow dye/ And I hung out on the washing line/ To dry with the dish cloths and dirty jokes / I'll tell you later.” The album is packed with these sorts of fresh, funny gems, with other highlights including Jealous Boy, the fuzz-guitar stompers Twirling In The Middle and Beep Bop Computers, the acoustic Muck (Very Human Features) which pins down what so much is common between us, all way to the gentle profound Appropriate Emotions. A wonderful band, not only on record, which sounds as live, but especially in person when playing live. Fun and fabulous. Out on Sub Pop.
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