Customer Reviews

Shocking Pinks

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4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a fine album. Easily on of the best to come out this year. I guess it's just of of those great records that don't catch on. I actually read about this band on pitchfork and then checked them out on myspace (i know, nothing about that isn't shamefull) nevertheless, then I bought their record and it completely surpassed my expectations. Their songs aren't immeadiately catchy but there is something about them. A lot of really great albums have come out this year, the national, feist, Andrew Bird, Animal collective, LCD soundsystem, Beirut, Kanye, Broken Social Scene, MIA, Jens Leckman...this one is definitly among them as one of the best of the year.

Three songs are very good, two more are good, a couple more could be thrown out. Overall, a good album for those who like early New Order, Joy Division, and other British early new wave/ post punk.

My introduction to this band was song #4, "Second Hand Girl," which I thought was great. Then I heard "How am I not Myself," I think, and decided to buy the whole album. My initial reaction was that this is a very consistent, solid album, though a tad repetitive in sound. But my major reservation with it is its derivativeness of early The Church. Their pre-"Heyday" (1986) albums such as "Remote Luxury" were obviously a direct and powerful influence on the Pinks, and for my money the band--particularly the singer--has failed to slay the father.

That said, this is clearly a band with a lot of talent, and I think they will only get better, hopefully emerging with new dna grafted on top of their current allotment. If you've never listened to these source albums to which I refer (as certainly most people haven't), you'll certainly have a different reaction, yet the 1980s sound may still cause some to flee to the present and still others to go to the past. I only wish I'd downloaded the single "Second Hand Girl" (and maybe a couple others as I appreciate them more in small doses) and waited for this band's future LPs to see what they become.