Customer Reviews

When Your Heartstrings Break

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

 

 

I don't think the words "short" and "sweet" have ever been so apt. When Your Heartstrings Break clocks in somewhere just over the 30 minute mark, and you get the feeling that not one minute has been wasted. This album is an intensely sugary sweet, a rush of flavour that bursts all over your tastebuds and is gone before you feel overindulged.
Beulah are a really tight outfit. They marry perfect harmonies to choppy indie guitars and the odd happy blast of a horn section. Think cracked concrete foothpaths and icecreams on a sunny day. This is the sort of music that lights up miserable November mornings with an early promise of next June.
As for concerns over its short length, what can I say except I don't think pet sounds broke the 40 minute barrier either.
An album for anyone who likes their indie pop to skip down the sunnier side of the street.

With this album, Beulah takes a great step upward from their first release, "Handsome Western States". The beautiful lyrics are still there, but this time they're wrapped up in some of the best chamber pop around. The best examples of this are the horns on "Emma Blowgun's Last Stand" and the strings on "Sunday Under Glass". As if that wasn't enough, the smooth production runs rings around the almost garage feel of Western States.

The album includes a mix of fun songs like "Aristocratic Swells" and deep ones like "Score From Augusta" (no mean feat considering there are only eleven tracks). There really is something for everyone with tracks ranging from convential indie pop to unusual chamber pop, and everything inbetween.

The only problem I have with this CD is that it is too short! Its eleven tracks run for just 34 minutes, leaving you begging for more. However, this just makes you listen again and pick up all the subtleties.

In short, a deceptively complex album that sounds so good it is essential listening for any self-respecting music fan.

Like much of the output of the Elephant 6 collective (Apples in Stereo, Minders), this is really beautifully crafted new psychedelic pop.

The songs are charmingly composed and sung, and have a lot of heart.

It's short, but in that short space they provide more beautiful songs than many much longer albums (including Beulah's own Coast is Never Clear).

Beulah's probably my favorite indie pop band. I bought this record after way back when I downloaded a couple songs off Audiogalaxy. The entire record flows beautifully from song to song, this is probably the most cohesive album I've ever listened to. There's not one song that fell out of line with their style or made me go, what was that? This is a very mellow album but at the same time, has an upbeat energy. I always feel like I have to be moving, doing something when I listen to this. If you're a fan of a couple of their songs, this is a great album so buy it! If there's any complaints, it's that this album is quite short! But it's not really a complaint considering the quality. It's really a shame that most of my other cds are 20% good, 80% crap. This is 100% good :)

i walk into my local record store and ask the guy behind the counter if there's any good pop music i should own. he says, "well, we just got this beulah import in but i'm pretty sure you already own it." actually, i didn't own it but i'm so happy that i own it now. i can't believe that i had my head in a hole for the past two years. this is brilliant pop music, some of the best i've heard in years. also, cool art. this one's a little different than the u.s. version for what that's worth. nonetheless, this record rocks. don't let another day go by without it in your collection.

I admire a band that can release an album that runs for 34 minutes. This usually means that the filler has been trimmed from the album, rather than the lack of worthy material. The problem here is that the songs are tracked continously so the flow isn't broken. The results are songs that sound nice and hummable, but they end up sounding the same. Miles Kurosky and his mates have crafted together a pleasant pop album but his bands and others like Apples In Stereo are just not my cup of tea. The last song, 'If We Can Land A Man On The Moon...' is a sparkling gem, and it's a shame moments like these couldn't be sustained for the whole record.