Grand Archives: The Grand Archive (SubPop/Rhythmethod)

 |   |  <1 min read

Grand Archives: Swan Matches
Grand Archives:  The Grand Archive (SubPop/Rhythmethod)

There are albums which, if you never hear, you probably can ignore and live happily without. For those who hear them however they become a private passion.

I can't imagine my life without a regular blast of the Dwight Twilley Band or Neil Halstead's Sleeping on Roads.

This debut album is like that: it breaks no particular boundaries and nor does it sets off on any original path. In fact the autumnal country-pop here owes debts all over the place (Poco, Moody Blues, Californian singer-songwriters of the 70s, the brighter and lighter side of 90s Britpop etc) and yet it possesses a certain magical something.

The odd thing is this comes from a band out of damp Seattle (singer-songwriter Mat Brooke was in Band of Horses) yet when they lope in to the dubby instrumental Breezy No Breezy or pull out the gently chiming guitars and harmony vocals they put a smile on your face and in mind of much warmer climes.

It isn't all mellow by any means and The Crime Window is widescreen power-pop of the finest kind with a chanting chorus.

Yes, you can quite happily live your life in absolute ignorance of this band and album, but I'm very glad I'm not.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

Methyl Ethel: Triage (4AD)

Methyl Ethel: Triage (4AD)

Their location (Perth in Western Australia) and the band name (which brings to mind Nick Cave/Grinderman's raucous Depth Charge Ethyl) might conjure up some pretty brittle and aggressive.... > Read more

Finn Andrews: One Piece at a Time (Nettwerk)

Finn Andrews: One Piece at a Time (Nettwerk)

As the mainman for his band the Veils, singer-songwriter Finn Andrews has turned in a more-than-respectable decade-plus collection of original songs and has rightly been hailed, right from when he... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

LISTENING TO VAN MORRISON by GREIL MARCUS

LISTENING TO VAN MORRISON by GREIL MARCUS

Music writer Marcus is so well ensconced in the pantheon of great rock writers that his books are universally hailed on publication. But this one -- a series of essays on Morrison's music... > Read more

Elsewhere Art . . . Keith Jarrett

Elsewhere Art . . . Keith Jarrett

Tragically, there will probably be no more new music from pianist Keith Jarrett. In 2018 he suffered two separate strokes which have left him partially paralyzed down his left side.... > Read more