How many times have I burned myself a CD of everything they’ve put out (yes, I ripped all the 7”s. No, I probably won’t burn you a copy.) just to have something of substantial length to listen to. Thank you for finally releasing a full-length. I’m trying so hard to not let them slip into a place where I take them for granted. There’s this amazing band that makes you so ridiculously happy every time you get to see them. But, then you’re close to them. You hear it more and more. You still love it, but it becomes a standard. And that’s a pretty hard standard to maintain. Luckily for me, these guys keep making it sound more and more appealing. Even the rerecorded versions here of “I Think I Can Breathe Now” (which happens to be one of my favorite songs by anyone) and “This Time Next Year” top their earlier selves. The back-to-back tracks, “Back to You Again” and “Stay Around” destroy me with the sweetness of the melodies juxtaposed against the slightly sad lyrical content (I am the biggest sucker for that). I think their secret is in that it definitely has the catchiness of its pop foundation, but a no point does it feel like they’re going to be completely pigeonholed by that, which does nothing but strengthen them. Extra bonus is that Jeff Burke (Marked Men and Potential Johns) provides both backing vocals and the use of one of his songs, “Crying in the Chapel,” which flush out their sound quite nicely. Well worth the wait. Also on vinyl—there was clear, but that’ll be long gone by the time this is printed.
–megan (It’s Alive)