Issue #46 - June/July 2013 - Charli XCXSaturday Looks Good to Me
One Kiss Ends It All
Polyvinyl
Jun 19, 2013 Saturday Looks Good to Me
Over the last decade, Fred Thomas has operated a revolving-door policy that surpasses even Mark E. Smith’s (of The Fall). But so far his fluid approach to Saturday Looks Good to Me’s line-up has always come up trumps, delivering such vivacious sonic offerings as 2007’s excellent Fill Up the Room.
Album number five, One Kiss Ends It All, once again finds the basement-born ensemble’s foreman ringing in the changes. Over the course of this 40-minute affair, Thomas hosts a variety of faces old and new to create a record that re-mines a penchant for heart-quivering, brass-plastered arrangements.
Predominantly delivered through the porcelain intonations of three female vocalists (Carol Gray, Amber Fellows, and the more familiar Betty Marie Barnes), Thomas’ latest creation draws on sweetened ‘60s pop melodies and C86-era indie lilting. Predictably, what ensues is an album drenched in nostalgia. “Empty Beach” is a Camera Obscura-lite shimmer of guitar chimes and corduroy-clad sensibilities, while “Sunglasses” is a jangling polka-dot pop endeavour that recalls the crystalline splendour of Phil Spector-styled girl groups.
While these breezy charms are easy to embrace, the cutesy retrograde of tracks such as “Negative Space” and the ineffective “Johnny” come off as a weary step backward. And for a progressive like Thomas, that’s a worrying development: the cast may be changing, but the sound is beginning to feel all too familiar. (www.slgtm.com)
Author rating: 5.5/10
Average reader rating: 10/10
Most Recent
- WFR Central, Derby, UK, March 23, 2024 (Review) — Altern 8, Maria Uzor, Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan, Cholly
- Premiere: Sofia Bolt Shares New Single “Bus Song” Featuring Stella Donnelly (News) — Sofia Bolt
- St. Vincent Shares New Song “Flea” (Feat. Dave Grohl) and Announces New Tour Dates (News) — St. Vincent, Dave Grohl
- Elbow – Guy Garvey on Their 10th Album “AUDIO VERTIGO” (Interview) — Elbow, Guy Garvey
- Vampire Weekend Share New Song “Mary Boone” (News) — Vampire Weekend
Comments
Submit your comment
July 14th 2016
5:36pm
Naturally you have got to get to work, and in the South East of London the average office employee has a commute of over one hour, and spends apprmxioately 1.3 years of their travelling from or to work.