Customer Reviews

Blind

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Sundays' debut "Reading Writing and Arithmetic" is a hard act to follow -- one of those gorgeous albums that only jack up expectations for the sophomore album. But "Blind" holds its own well against its illustrious predecessor with the same lush, mellow pop.

Starting off with the soft, midtempo "I Feel," we get a taste of lush pop (the solid "Goodbye," "24 Hours," the thoughtful "God Made Me" transcendent ballads (the soft, dreamlike "Life and Soul," the melancholy "On Earth"), mild rockers ("What Do You Think?," "Love") and it's all topped off by a ethereal acoustic cover of the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses."

They say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Wisely, the Sundays obeyed that little nugget of wisdom for Album No. 2. "Blind" has much the same musical style as "Reading Writing and Arithmetic," but there's enough variation that it doesn't feel like a cash-in retread. In a nutshell, t's a bit more melancholy and less wistful. ("Peace love/Now what?/Don't go telling me you've had them...")

The music this time around is a bit more polished and lush, but never EVER overproduced. It's simple and catchy, David Gavurin's wonderful guitar strumming backed by some solid bass and percussion. Harriet Wheeler's crystalline voice is sweet and clear, and in "Blind" she still has that wonderful heartfelt sound, meaning every syllable.

The Sundays avoided the dreaded sophomore slump in "Blind," an album that nearly measures up to their phenomenal debut. Warm, sweet and vibrant, this is a solid collection of beautiful indie-pop.

This is The Sundays at their best, the full realization of their sound. "Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic" is essential with it's "The Smiths with female vocals" sound, but "Blind" is pure Sundays. The consistently haunting atmosphere of this record makes "Blind" my personal favorite. "Blood On My Hands" says it all.

The Sundays albums in descending order (according to me):

1. "Blind"
2. "Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic" (very close second)
3. "Static & Silence" (as much as I love this album, it's not as consistent or "magical" as the first two.)

I highly recommend all three.

I love this CD and recommend all the songs on it, but I confess I bought it for their cover of the Rolling Stones' Wild Horses classic, which I first heard during the episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Angel comes to Buffy's prom for a heartbreaking slow dance and good-bye to his true love. In fact I found the lead singer's voice on this song so beatiful and clear and full of longing that I had to call a radio station to identify the singer, as I had never heard of The Sundays before.

The remarkable Harriet Wheeler...a voice, the likes of which is very hard to resist, drowns you in a sea of melancholic magic. Atmospheric, delicate, brooding and angst driven...pitch perfect. If love has a sound, this is it.

This album, once you listen to it, immediately becomes one of the top choices in any collection. Since first hearing it back in 1992, it has become a piece of me. Not just a small one, but a very integral one. It may be cheezy at times and may be a bit hard to sing along with, but the powerful notes hit by Harriet Wheeler make up for any deficiencies. There are three key tracks to this album that help define its distinctness. The first being Goodbye. Simply put, it's the 'happy go lucky' song you always want to hear when you're having a good day. I love putting on in the car and just crusing down the highway. Second, we have Love. The lyrics are the key here, and this song contains the best line the Sundays have ever written. "History at your door, who could ask for more?" Finally, we come to the absolute finito when it comes to music....Wild Horses. I truly believe this is the most perfect piece of music ever recorded. The funny thing is they did it 1/2 drunk one night in the studio. They turned one of the most off-key, twangy songs the Stones have ever done and made it into a deep, fullfilling ballad with notes that send chills up your spine. If I'm in the right mood....this song can actually bring tears to my eyes. I highly recommend this album to anyone who is even remotely interested in the Sundays. I promise you, you won't be disappointed.

I heard the Sundays first in my Dad's car (I was 10), when he bought the "3Rs" debut and I've simply loved them ever since. This record is a psychedelic lesson in guitar and vocal texture and utterly impossible to capture in words.
Ethereal, childlike female vocals chime over sparkling clean electric guitar work which obviously references the Smiths, but the comparison is lazy: Gavurin's arpeggiated and folky major-sevenths and open-stringed tinklings have a mantra-esque, almost sitar-like feel. The remaining rhythm section play more conventionally than on the debut, but retain some of the sharp, off-kilter rhythmic space of that album. The overall effect is a transcendental one, yet the everyday lyrical content and indie-rock approach grounds the album nicely on terra firma.
Not as quirky and "art-studenty" as the first album (no lavatory references or vomited-on cardigans!), "Blind" plumbs deeper emotional depths and, as a result, is harder to get into at first listen.
Perfect wet-weekend listening for the love-lorn poet.

This is a group that has not yet released anything even close to a bad album. Blind was picked upon by critics, but for the life of me I cannot see why. I guess they thought that since this was the Sundays' sophomore effort and somehow the "conventional wisdom" is that second tries HAVE to be inferior to debuts, they were obligated to cut it down a few notches.

Well, feeling no such obligation, I will happily declare that this is a 5-star album if there ever was one. I give this 5 stars on the basis that there is not one bad track on the album. The entire album is just great. And how many albums can you say THAT about nowadays? Believe me, this is one CD that you will not have to use your track programming on.

If you already like some of the Sundays' music, you will NOT be disappointed by this album. In fact, you will be hard-pressed not to wear out your CD player with this one.

Gentle, emotional, brilliant.

I'm not exactly a huge Sundays fan, but this is a pretty good album. I initially bought it for their cover of "Wild Horses," but the rest of the CD is quality tunes. Great for mellowing out with after a rough day. Relaxing, but never boring.

Highly recommended.

This disc comes three years after the debut of The Sundays "Reading,Writing,and Arithmetic" but it finds them on familiar ground. The formula remains the same with Harriet's angelic voice and David's jangly guitar. "Blind" is a masterpiece because it never tires the listener. In fact, you can listen to this cd over and over again and still think you heard just one song. In other words, the music is amazing and Harriet's vocals have a heavenly flow on every track. The lyrics are dark at times but always take you on a journey that only The Sundays can guide. My favorite tracks are "life and soul" and "24 hours" on this disc but they are all excellent. What else is to be expected from a group that has released just three albums in ten years but another amazing work from The Sundays with "Blind". You need complete your music collection with all their albums but you cannot go wrong with this one.

I currently listen to this CD a lot. Harriet Wheeler's voice and David Gavurin's acoustic guitar are wonderful. The 'Wild Horses' cover in itself makes this compilation a value.