Alright. Let’s make this one count. After the last poorly written review I wrote for P.S. Eliot, I think maybe I can redeem myself here.
Introverted Romance In Our Troubled Minds was a great record. It maintained a certain level of punk edge, but mixed in some old indie pop jangle. There were a few flaws here and there. In the end, it was a solid record. The band’s latest release, Sadie, is more of the same. While it does suffer from some of the same flaws on occasion, it feels like the band played to the strengths more often than not.
The album opens with “Talk.” It is a quick, upbeat number. It does a great job setting the tone for the record. This record seems a little faster than the last one did. As a result, there is not as much run together for songs. Each songs has little flairs that differentiate it from the one before it. The title track is the third song in, and is a great example of how great Katie Crutchfield’s voice really is. The same is true for “Diana,” which is the slowest (and longest song) on the record. While the former is very poppy, the latter is very subdued. The vocals are soft, the instrumentation is more sparse. They are two songs that show how solid this band is, but in two different ways.
The problems I had with the prior full length have disappeared, mostly. The production sounds a little cleaner. The album as a whole breaks away from being too mid-tempo and monotonous. The vocals sound a hell of a lot clearer. I had been bothered a touch by how slurred and hard to make out the words were on the previous full length. On this one, save for the opener, this is not really an issue. As far as production, my one issue is that vocals, first guitar, and drums are really high in the mix. The second guitar and bass kind of get lost a bit. Not a deal breaker, and not uncommon for the genre.
Stand out tracks would be “Cross Eyed,” “Sadie,” “Pink Sheets,” and “Shitty And Tragic.” Minor gripe being it seems a bit front loaded, but that is really more an arbitrary call anyway. Lyrically, the band remains spot on. Over all, this record will not disappoint. It is a mish-mash of punk, indie pop, and power pop. Three great things that go great together. Kind of sounds like the ’90s? Shit, just check it out.
Official Site (Blog. Not updated since January. So, maybe not?)
Buy It @ Salinas Records
Official Download @ If You Make It
Team Reasonable 