(Cheap Lullaby)
Long before the Bloody Lovelies released an album, they were already pulling in thousands of dollars on MP3.com. A listen of the Bloody Lovelies’ debut Some Truth and a Little Money offers up plenty of reasons why the then-unsigned band found itself on Mainstream Radio Index’s charts alongside Sheryl Crow, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam.
The Bloody Lovelies have an energetic pop-rock sound that is at once retro and yet utterly accessible. The fun the band is having comes through loud and clear on the album, making for happy sing-alongs and dreamy introspection alike. There are some standard piano-driven numbers like the opener “Hologram” and the gentler “Lonely Town.” The latter is sung with a delicate longing by vocalist Randy Wooten. But Wooten and his band prove they are just as capable of playing a good rollicking rock song with “Baby Tells Me (It’s Alright).”
While the Lovelies call to mind bands like Ben Folds and OK Go, they bring a quirkiness and comfort in tickling the ivories that gives their songs a sly, operatic feel. It is just odd enough to entice, but not strange enough to frighten. Just listen to the single “You Don’t Love Me” for a taste of this eccentricity: a handful of funky chords coupled with an ironic, drawling delivery gives a standard-fare breakup song a touch of personality and psychodrama.
The Lovelies’ blend of classic piano lyricism and lots of idiosyncrasies makes their music light and original, catchy and unimposing. Take this CD on a long drive, and see if you don’t come back humming the songs.
—M. Patricia Li
They Might Be Giants
Indestructible Object
(Barsuk)
Brooklyn-based progressive rockers They Might Be Giants just put out their latest EP, Indestructible Object, their first release since their June 2002 album No! The two Johns, Linnell and Flansburgh make up maybe the only 20 year-old band which is both extremely talented and as harebrained as Spinal Tap. They even have a 24-hour music hotline, Dial-A-Song, offering updates and samples of their music.
The opening track mutters of subconscious thought and hopeless wandering to the backbone of TMBG’s standard electronic beats, keyboard chords and synthesized effects. The subdued and somewhat depressing theme leads into “Memo to Human Resources,” a tune reminiscent of R.E.M. and which clearly shows their capabilities as solid songwriters. The whimsical “Au Contraire” may have been better left off the album, but demonstrates the two Johns still have a sense of humor—they sing of a poker game between Jodie Foster, Bach and Mahatma Gandhi. Next is the upbeat “Ant,” whose background horns make it ska-like. Although the trumpet, trombone and tuba add a nice dimension to the song, the band may have gone a little overboard near the end, finishing with rampant woodwind nonsense.
The EP closes with a cover of the Beach Boys’ “Caroline, No,” which was recorded live at the Coney Island Museum in their hometown. It is always risky covering a well-known song, let alone one off the immortal album Pet Sounds, but TMBG do justice to the Beach Boys with their straightforward rendition of the wholesome lost love ballad.
-—Akash Goel