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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "*Bill Holmes*" <bholmes_fm@msn.com> |
| Subject | Re: Splitville? |
| Date | Mon, 19 Jan 2004 09:55:28 -0500 |
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Jason:
Must admit - you scared me silly! Your bad spelling made me think the band
broke up, especially after the recent Ultimate Fakebook and Einstein's
Sister implosions. Whew! Now to your question...
Splitsville has taken us through adolescence, high school, 20s and now 30s
with the four albums (I'm hoping they slow down so we milk more out of
them). The songwriting and arrangements are consistently good (although
detractors of the first record will write it off as cartoonish, I believe it
was the point). I'm amazed that songs like "I Wish I Never Met You" (from
INCORPORATED) aren't touted higher - beautiful melody, strong arrangement
and performance, pin-point lyricism about the pain of unrequited love. Oh,
and those incredible vocals. I also wouldn't discount THE COMPLEAT PET SOUL
(despite your Byrds/Beach Boys comment), which I think is an amazing
achievement; the original EP might even be better as a cohesive statement.
I would not only buy REPEATER, I'd get their entire catalogue, especially if
you lean towards FOW more than the simpler rhythmic jangle of classic Beach
Boys songs (I'm assuming your comparison is more towards the hits than the
more obtuse product?). But I would work backwards in case your tolerance for
the more juvenile themes wears thin (you may or may not like "Yearbook", I
love it to death). Try the band's website for back catalogue (and probably
sound samples).
And like Stewart said, finding a Greenbury Woods record in the dump bin is
not an impossible task. I'll keep my eyes open for you if you're interested.
Two dollars or so isn't a bad gamble in the world of power pop.
cheers
b
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