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Review: Jack Foley
THE New Wave movement seems relentless in its discovery of new
talent at the moment, given the retro-revival spearheaded by the
likes of Interpol, The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, StellaStarr*, The Rapture
and The Strokes at the moment.
The latest to join that list, almost by association with some
of the bands already mentioned, are The Stills, and while they
hail, originally, from Montreal, it will come as little surprise
to hear that they relocated to New York to put together their
first album.
The good news, however, is that The Stills appear to have much
more about them than mere bandwagon-jumpers.
Sure, much of their music contains that 80s-based, retro-vibe
which appears to be the mainstay of bands in that genre, but there
is something a little more gutsy, and a little less urgent, about
them.
Call them The Radiohead of the post-punk, New Wave movement,
if you will, but some of the tracks on debut album, Logic Will
Break Your Heart, build in the same sort of way that early
Yorke efforts did.
Certainly, the album smacks of the same sort of melancholy that
can be found in a lot of Radiohead's work, although the guitars,
for the most part, are a little brighter, and lead singer, Tim
Fletcher's vocals, while still aching, are a little more serene,
and much less whiny.
I'm talking about tracks such as the sweeping Of Montreal
here, which expertly demonstrate the wealth of talent which
appears to run throughout the band - they are both musically tight
and vocally accomplished, making much of the album and an extremely
pleasant listen.
There are moments which smack of close friends, Interpol, or
the speed guitars of The Strokes (Ready For It), although
they are mixed nicely with some of the weightier numbers, such
as second single and opening track, Lola Stars and Stripes,
which gets things rolling in fine style.
Strong, too, is the track Let's Roll, which contains a
deeply brooding drum beat, and some neat guitar loops threaded
intricately throughout. It's probably the closest thing on the
album to an out and out ballad, and demonstrates a maturity beyond
their years.
It may be borne out of frustration and despair, but Logic
Will Break Your Heart also contains a refreshing optimism,
thanks to the scything, occasionally melodic, guitars, and punchy
drums.
The true heart-breaker in all this would be if the band didn't
find a big listener base,so make sure that doesn't happen.
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Track listing:
1. Lola Stars And Stripes
2. Gender Bombs
3. Changes Are No Good
4. Love & Death
5. Of Montreal
6. Ready For It
7. Let's Roll
8. Allison Krausse
9. Animals + Insects
10. Still In Love Song
11. Fevered
12. Yesterday Never Tomorrows
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