After thrilling us with their jangling creations in the past, The Stroppies have expanded their sound to include more distortion and fuzz, and color in darker aural hues. We took "The Perfect Crime", the lead track for their new album Levity, for a test drive in mid-March (link) and were duly impressed. We now have the full album and can report that it is all that we could have hoped for. It seems that keys come more to the forefront than in the past, although The Stroppies at this point remain a guitar pop band, and the production is more polished. But polish doesn't not arrive at the expense of wit or the palpable personality of each of the songs. Various members of the band take turns with lead vocals, with the others often harmonizing to good effect. Commentators often link The Stroppies to the classic guitar pop sound of the Flying Nun label, and we find the reference neither inapt nor lazy. However, this band isn't just recreating that beloved sound, but rather building a new sound on the foundations.
We heartily recommend this album.
The Stroppies are Angus Lord, Caudia Serfaty, Rory Heane, and Adam Hewitt. Levity is out now via Tough Love Recordings.
No comments:
Post a Comment