Categories : Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 Reviewer: David Coats |
After resurrecting their long-dormant Murderecords label, Sloan’s Chris Murphy and Jay Ferguson went looking for new talent to add to their roster. Their search yielded Waterloo’s Will Currie and the Country French, whose debut consists of a lightning-quick 8 proper songs of playful, melodic, borderline-theatrical piano-centric pop.
Beginning with the bouncy electric piano of the title track, continuing with ‘Surprising Me,’ and peaking with the record’s centerpiece, ‘Honest People,’ WCATCF prove to be a band that will make you smile with ridiculously warm, friendly melodies and arrangements, but a band that has a hard time adjusting its own energy or dynamics, making the record go by in a bit of a blur. Ballads ‘Maybe’ and ‘Mannin Veen’ provide a change of pace, though they are more reminiscent of Royal Wood than Sloan – basically a Hawksley Workman-influenced, poor man’s Ron Sexsmith. The band also has a tendency to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks – songs like ‘Thunder Bay Coastguard Radio’ aren’t exactly exercises in minimalism, and though the energy is indicative of their revered live shows, the band would benefit at times from a less-is-more approach.
If you listen to one song from this record, you basically know exactly what you’re getting the rest of the way – a youthful creative enthusiasm that tends to manifest itself in similar ways from song to song. Fortunately, the band does it well, demonstrating a polish and familiarity surprising for a debut, and demonstrating a sense of knowing how to play with each other and play off each other alike to benefit each song. And this also may be the most fun record you’ll hear this year this side of Los Campesinos!…
WCATCF are a band that is only going to get better with experience. Get in on the ground floor, indie fans – but make sure you like piano-pop.
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