Live a Little

Pernice Brothers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 3, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ashmont Records
• ASIN: B000HKDEHO
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,326 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

During and after his days as the leader of Massachusetts band the Scud Mountain Boys, which fizzled after their dazzling 1996 Sub Pop release, Joe Pernice has crafted his songs with a juxtaposed blueprint--hummable melodies and a lush pop tenor camouflaging lyrics that reek of anxiety and aggravation. "Struggling through the S's/Through the tunnels in the trees/Through the sticky optimism hardening in me," he mordantly confesses in "PCH One," among the best of the dozen songs that make up the Pernices' sixth full-length record. Backed by brother Bob and ace guitarist Peyton Pinkerton, Pernice's unblemished voice is the key instrument, whether lamenting a spurious hometown ("Somerville") or summating a breakup ("Conscience Clean") with one telltale line: "So I threw a dart at Europe/She hit Michigan." But the band saves the most poignant track for last, a remake of the Scuds' "Grudge F***," in which Pernice pleads for one last encounter with an ex-lover. It's the kind of song that once sold a million for AM radio bands like Bread, and wraps up in 4:57 what the Pernice Brothers are all about. --Scott Holter

Product Description

Live a Little is the sixth recording by The Pernice Brothers, and it marks as much a return to form as it does a departure from what came before it.

For one thing, there's the reunion of Joe Pernice and producer Michael Deming, who worked on the recordings of Joe's previous band, the Scud Mountain Boys, as well as the very first Pernice Brothers record, Overcome By Happiness. This one has strings AND horns, which has not been part of the formula (and it IS indeed a formula) since OBH. But, and this is a mighty exception, it's much more of a rock record than that was, representing the running of big fat analog tape while sweaty guys played loud rock music on well-crafted instruments through amplifiers and pounded on sweet, old, drum kits. Oh, and it marks a return to New England, having been recorded in Connecticut, which one of the band members used to disparage as nothing more than the state in his when he wanted to travel from Massachusetts to New York. He's now grown to pay it the respect it deserves as a rock mecca, hiding in plain sight.

Lyrically, it's another masterpiece, and if distinctions must be drawn, perhaps this one's a bit more literary, where the last one Discover a Lovelier You was somewhat more cinematic. "PCH One" probably could have been a Scud Mountain Boys song, and "Grudge F*** (2006) was a Scud Mountain Boys song (without the 2006), but instead of the gentle, almost lazy, plaintive plodding of the original recording, the Pernice Brothers version out-Badfingers Badfinger and that's good. You can feel its pain. It also has the trademark Pernice geography obsession. There are eleven very excellently crafted and executed new songs in all, plus the aforementioned "Grudge," which is indeed a stunner.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nobody does it bitter. I mean better., November 3, 2006

By 

armenianthunder (los angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live a Little (Audio CD)

What is it about that combination of paranoiac, eternally crestfallen, heartsick lyrics over bright, blindingly sunny 70's AM Gold melodic pop? How can music be so anchored in both neverending disappointment and desperate hope-against-hope? I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb by declaring that few do it better than the Pernice Brothers. The songs of Joe Pernice are at once gorgeous exercises of the pop melodies that made those of Zombies, Bread, and Jimmy Webb so timeless, and the lyrical kick that could only come in a post-Morrissey kind of world. This latest album is a return to the chamber-pop sound of the band's debut, "Overcome By Happiness," after the faux-80's dance-nouveau tendencies of the last 2 records. Songs like "Somerville," which is the best song Teenage Fanclub never wrote, "PCH One," a tribute of sorts to that singular relationship of Ponch & Jon of C.H.I.P.S. (for those of you old enough to know of whence I speak), and "Cruelty to Animals" are among their finest, and will nest in your brain like tumors. Plus, the added bonus of a remake of the Scud Mountain Boys classic-that-never-was "Grudge F***." What can I say? Another winner.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars stunning and complex, October 18, 2006

By 

Franklin (West Des Moines, IA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live a Little (Audio CD)

The songs on the new Pernice Brothers get better with each listen. They are nothing short of stunning - complex and elegant, yet simple. By far, their best CD to date - each song distinct and very well crafted. Ranging from hard driving (BS Johnson, Microscopic View) to more melodic (PCH One) I can't get the CD out of my car or the songs out of my head - yet each listen opens up new elements in the lyrics and the instrumentation. Joe's vocal are fantastic, Peyton's guitar work is awesome. Get this CD now - and go see them on tour if they stop in your town(they are fantastic live)!!!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ethereal greatness of the Pernice Brothers continues..., October 10, 2006

By 

Kenneth Tong "historical fiction/fantasy lover" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live a Little (Audio CD)

If you're a fan of the Pernice Brothers' earlier work, stop reading this and go purchase the album right now. At first listen, I wasn't very impressed, but each song grew on me considerably with repeated listens, as I had experienced with their previous albums, and I'm tempted to call this my favorite yet. Live a Little evokes the vibe of Overcome By Happiness, with lilting melodies and clever, incisive lyrics that cut straight to the heart and mind. Joe Pernice has never been better in terms of songwriting or with the emotional impact of his distinctly breathy yet clear voice. Song arrangements have become more complex and adds to the trademark sublime quality of the Pernice Brothers' work. All the songs are excellent, but particular favorites include "Somerville" and an introduction straight from Oasis that leads into a delightfully upbeat tune; "How Can I Compare", in which Joe waxes sentimental like he did on "How To Live Alone" from "Yours, Mine and Ours"; "B.S. Johnson", with a catchy, relentlessly driving bassline akin to that of "The Weakest Shade of Blue" also from "Yours, Mine and Ours"; "Lightheaded" and its upbeat bridge; "High as a Kite" has much the same wistfulness of "Our Time Has Passed" from "The World Won't End", but with an even more beautiful chorus; and "Grudge F**k", a reworking of a Scud Mountain Boys song which I have not heard before, but cannot have been as damn good as this version. I could go on and on about the merits of all of these songs, some of the finest examples of music as art in the 21st century. Buy this album. (And the rest of the Pernice Brothers' stuff if you haven't yet).