That's what I'd say if I had to, but what I'd rather say is that its breakfast tea music. It's slow, thoughtful and dreamy folk-pop, run through some vintage gear and effects pedals, and served with dry toast and a sensible jam. It's more the sound of opening up the morning paper at daybreak than it is a specific musical genre. Is the music fast? No. Are the guitars "shimmering"? Yes. Is it melancholic? Absolutely. But is that bad? Not in the slightest. Does the vocalist have a thick British accent? Yes, at least to my ears. Does it sound like it was made for the digital age? Not really (note to self: buy this album on vinyl).
The melancholy of the soft guitar pop with occasional organ and strings, is provided courtesy of a breakup for the lead singer. Whether it's real or imagined I can't say, as I'm not privy to the details of why or how they do what they do, but the 12 tracks of the album seem to chronicle this relationship and its demise. This may sound more heady and sober than it is. After all, what pop music doesn't write about relationships and breakups? It's classic song fuel, just taken that extra step with detail. Musically the songs flow one to another with little variation in overall dynamic. Tracks are largely reigned in to a slower mid-tempo that carries similar instrumentation and dynamic weight. If you're looking for an album that stretches you at every turn (and where the artist tries to convince him/herself in interviews that "we really tried to branch out and do something different with this new album..." I always love hearing that bit!), then this might not be for you. However, if you like a couple of the tracks, then you're going to settle in nicely to the groove of the rest of the record.
The album starts off with their first single "Since K Got Over Me", introducing us to the unnamed antagonist in the melodrama, and begins a musical style that carries through the rest of the album, especially in the excellent "When I Came Home From The Party." Slow lushness quickly comes to the fore in the exquisite "(I Can't Seem To) Make You Mine," and really showcases their deft and natural knack for churning out lilting melodies. "E.M.P.T.Y" is a slightly more jangly and upbeat number (at least musically, if not lyrically, as you might guess) and is probably the next most likely candidate to be a single of some sort. The two most obvious deviations from the established guitar pop grandeur of the tracks are "Impossible," which incorporates a classy and lushly romantic string ensemble before ending up with a more psychedelic leaning guitar solo, and "Losing Haringey" which takes a spoken monologue and lays it over a more mid-tempo track.
Article comments
1 - ClubhouseCancer
I absolutely love this album, and was knocked out by the two songs available for free download, especially "Can't Seem to Make You Mine." But the whole album is just gorgeous guitar pop, as the reviewer said. This stuff really burrows into your head, as the reviewer also said.
I guess what I'm saying is the reviewer is right.