Label: Double Six
Release Date: 12/05/08
Rating:
Released on Domino offshoot Double Six, 'Feel Good Hits Of A Nuclear Winter' is a promising statement from a band brimming with ideas, most of which Laurel Collective manage to realise within the realm of their charming wonk-pop. Opener 'International Love Affair' throws plenty of ideas into the mix; rueful vocals and energetic percussion mingle with some endearingly 80s keyboards and pleasingly jagged guitars, culminating in a sound which at times recalls Mystery Jets.
'Gun Mouth' has tribal drumming and excellent lurching over-driven bass with a call and response chorus that sounds oddly like The Dead 60s. However the vocals sound somewhat less convincing in this lower register. 'Vuitton Blues' is an über catchy bounce-along number. Again, Laurel Collective aren't afraid to wander off into unexpected terrain and still manage to retain their overt poppiness. One line in the chorus particularly surmises their musical attitude: "smash musical chairs/drinking magic potions".
'Seasick Sailor' conveys the mood of a doomed maritime voyage while continuing the musical magpie act and even mentioning a Filofax, while 'Epsilons' is a more downbeat, maudlin number which apparently bemoans that there are "no more songs for weirdos". 'Hercules' explores an ancient Greek theme that had been lurking below the surface in 'Epsilons' and the 'laurel' of their moniker, singer Martin Sakutu begging "Hercules, help me please" as guitars rev and then dissipate. 'Billion Planets' ups the intensity level and there is some impressive cowbell work in the verses, then Sakutu and co-singer Bob Tollast joining forces for the chorus: "lovers of a billion planets/they don't put their lives in boxes".
While Laurel Collective manage to cram a myriad of influences and different sections into each song without the tunes sounding schizophrenic or flabby, the main downfall of 'Feel Good Hits...' is that the songs are less memorable than if the band hadn't gone for yet another out of place instrumental break, which can sound like they're being stuck in for the sake of it.
Andrew Grillo
Laurel Collective Myspace
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