"Storm"ing back after a five year absence, this Northampton, MA quartet's seventh album opens with the swirling, cinematic instrumental anthem, "Overture," as core members Peyton Pinkerton and Matt Hunter welcome their new rhythm section of Caleb Wettmore (bass) and Patrick Berkerey (drums) for a snappy, catchy baker's dozen indie pop tunes, like the refreshingly melodic "Winding Staircase" that demonstrate the band still have what it takes 15 years on to catch your ears with well-crafted pop songs with a quirky, 90s college radio bent. There's a shoegazey Brit pop vibe a la Ride and Teenage Fanclub (the band most often soundchecked throughout) trickling through "Accountant of the Year" and "Scuttled" is so damn infectious, it could be the best new song of 2006!
The sleepy Beckisms of "View of A Wedding Part II" are saved by longtime producer Mark Alan Miller's wall of sound production that sounds like Phil Spector helming the latest Wilco effort and features some of the band's best harmonies to date. Fans of the poppier Beach Boy elements of the recently reformed Olivia Tremor Control will also enjoy the bands ventures into orchestral pop. However, old timers who prefer their garagey past are also rewarded with the vibrant stab at Guided By Voices-styled pop on "Anthymn" and the Teenage Fannies penchant for crafting perfect punk/pop platters is captured on "Fighting Off The Pricks" which, like most of this album, could have sat comfortably alongside the "Bandwagonesque" and "Thirteen" B-sides.
There's even a tinge of Nick Laird-Clowes' nostalgic romanticism from his old Dream Academy days whispering through the complex "From A Roof." Another pleasant surprise is the dreamy psychedelia of the short and sweet "Yardsale Legacy" and the heady floater "Sunset Provisions," which fondly recalls the high flying days of The Warlocks, a la "Left and Right of The Moon." With a scheduled February 14 street date, this is a bright valentine for your ears and the best release of the year so far.
By Jeff Penczak
(originally posted on) Foxy Digitalis