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   Saturday, July 06, 2002  
So Rilo Kiley say farewell to Barsuk and throw in their lot with Bright Eyes and the rest over at SaddleCreek records. The Nebraska label will put out the band's 2nd album, The execution of all things, on October 1 which is great but ages away. In the meantime, anyone looking for a peppy indie-pop fix should maybe consider something like the recent Rocking Horse Winner album, Horizon. Depending who you read it's either 'absolutely captivating .. a golden indie record,' or 'a flavorless rehash devoid of any real creative substance'. reallyrather falls somewhere in between. Certainly Horizon does absolutely nothing new and might have been released anytime in the last 15 years. But if you're not looking for vertiginous leaps of creativity and just want a car-load of crunchy/twinkly guitar pop for the summer, this delivers. Sounding a bit like Rilo Kiley on steroids after a quirk-bypass op, tracks like Novelty, Orange blossom and Miss you rock crisply and catchily. When songbirds sing initially threatens a detour to lighter-waving country but a sharper sensibility soon asserts. A good melodic standard's maintained, only a couple of the 10 tracks failing to satisfy. Jolie's high vocal is strong, guitars are big, drumming's light 'n' snappy and the swish production keeps the right side of slick. Unchallenging, totally accessible indie-pop devoid of cheesiness - sometimes it's all you really want...

Back on the home front, Arnold offer samples of the 5 tracks on their upcoming EP. Words like shimmering, lush and desirable spring to mind...

Touting garlanded new EPs of their own, the Beachwood Sparks / Tyde collective comes to the UK in August - dates so far:
Aug 6 BSparks / Spitz, London
Aug 8 BSparks / Barfly, Cardiff
Aug 19 BSparks+The Tyde / 93 Feet East, London
Aug 20 The Tyde / Cherry Jam, London
Aug 27 The Tyde / Water Rats, London

"Their tunes are happy. They are about Nice Things like the sun. Being strong. Calling your dad. We defy you not to fall under their influence," said this week's NME of The Polyphonic Spree's recent Barfly show. Fancy testing your resistance? They're coming back at the same venue this Thurs 11 July (and they all fit, apparently)...
   posted by SMc at 12:43 PM |