Customer Reviews

Our Hopes & Dreams

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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This is not the Cap'n Jazz off shoot band Owls this is The Owls! Hailing from Minneapolis and quietly blowing your mind. Great pop with the sounds of mellower Velvet Underground, the female voices of Stereolab and a few of the Beatles thrown in.

It starts with "Air", probably one of the best break-up songs ever, and never lets up. Every song is catchy, memorable and infinitely hummable. The different vocalists (and songwriters) could lead to a disjointed mess but everything seems to flow smoothly into pop heaven. Slightly melancholy and blissful and beautiful to behold. Ends with the best McCartney song you've never heard, "Even Now". Built with acoustic guitars, pianos, strings, and harmonies and like the perfect pop song, this CD is a little too short, leaving you with a longing for a little bit more.

Based on hearing "Air" on the radio (KEXP, online - a Seattle and internet treasure) - an excellent song, with style and some substance, I bought the album. Unfortunately the rest of the album doesn't really hold up to the promise and even Air doesn't have the sophistication I hoped it did from background radio listenings. "Air is only there, where I used to care" - not a great poetic lyric of our time.

The various songs are credited to different band members, and those by Maria May (inc. Air) work the best for me (1, 4, 6).

Overall, an ok album, with some merit, but not likely to stay in my listening pile for more than a few weeks.