Customer Reviews

Strange Weather Lately

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

 

 

I caught their set at CMJ in New York and fell in love with this Scottish pop band's catchy songs. This CD is great! If you like Teenage Fanclub, The Figgs, or the La's you'll dig Astrid.

Just recently purchased this cd, as well as Play Dead (their other release). Both are very good middle of the road pop/rock. Surprised I missed them first time around. Very jangly, plenty to sing along to. I would say if you like Teenage Fanclub, Papas Fritas, Frank & Walters, etc., you'll enjoy this. I would recommend this release slightly over Play Dead, but both are worthy additions to your collection. Nothing too complicated or serious but a very easy to enjoy listen (and what's wrong with that!).

I dare you not to fall in love with this album. From the opening rush of "Kitchen T.V." to the closing comedown of "W.O.P.R.M" (weird old prog rock man) this album never puts a foot wrong. The album exists as a celebration of summertime and youthfulness, played with eyes-closed and heads-shakin' by 4 impossibly young lads from the Isle of Lewis. It's a breezy power pop album with chiming harmonies and crunchy guitar beautifully produced by Edwin Collins, so wide eyed and innocent that it's easy to see why Belle and Sebastian love them, and moody humourless music-press types hate them. Call them the Anti-Radiohead, but an album hasn't been shot through with so much fun and exuberance since the Beatles grew their hair and started calling everyone "Man". Their second album and later work( as the backbone of Glasgow collective The Reindeer Section) is more serious and more sober, but this album remains a perfect tribute to the joys of being young and having the world at your feet. I dare you not to fall in love with this album.

The music is beautiful, incredibly catchy, happy, and impossible to dislike. Just like the stupid music majors to overlook these lads in favor of Coldplay. But it's the music that you want to have a long summer road trip in, with the windows open and stereo at full blast. This some plays a little faster and have a simpler structure than their second album, but they're both wonderful.

Considering i prefer dance music, upon first listening to this, i instantly dismissed it for yet another American-type college band, with instantly forgettable songs. Upon further hearings, the songs have improved and are catchy for the length of time they play but as soon as they are over you'd struggle to remember how it went. This is by no means a terrible album and is uplifting and is reminiscent of the Bluetones or maybe the LA's. Worth a try if only for something different.