Wednesday 27 February 2008

Review: I Was a Cub Scout- I Want You To Know That There Is Always Hope (oh, and Lightspeed Champion)

I knew nothing about the band I Was a Cub Scout except I liked their song 'Pink Squares'. I don't know how old they are, I don't know what 'scene' it is (I gave up on the NME after their latest Morrissey slating), I don't know what they look like.
But they are fucking ace. Their debut album is kind of electroish, poppy, indie. There is something so cool about his voice, slightly northern, and it just sounds like he can't really be arsed. It's like a MUCH more subtle Alex Turner. It is just appealing.
I have no idea what is going on in the songs, what the lyrics are about, except for odd sound bites. It's like an aural equivalent of a Douglas Coupland book, just kind of floating around, and moody, and occasionally making perfect sense.
All the songs are fairly interchangeable. But it's just lovely. There's a xylophone at one point.
This review is in no way good or comprehensive. But you know. I like it. I can't describe why. It's intangible, like all the best things.
Whilst I'm at it, I think I totally forgot to review the Lightspeed Champion album, Falling Off Lavender Bridge. Which was foolish of me, as it's my album of the year thus far. I like the Mike Mogis production. I like Dev's lyrics. I like Emmy the Great's backing vocals. It's very folky and the songs go on a bit too long, and that's a good thing. Everything just fits into place. I can't wait for Emmy's album.

2 comments:

* (asterisk) said...

Lightspeed Champion ain't doing it for me. I saw him cover "Thriller" on The Culture Show and then saw the Star Wars outfits on the NME show. The music just isn't good enough to rise above the need for gimmicks, I fear.

lightupvirginmary said...

no, no, no forget the gimmicks. I thought thriller was shit too. Download 'I could have done this myself' or 'dry lips'. they are really lovely. But hold on, you're more of a rock boy, aren't you?