Their last album, 2002’s Handcream for a Generation, felt like the culmination of the band’s incredible pastiche of influences from the ‘60s and ‘70s meeting the ‘90s, through the filter of a skewered glam rock that favored sitars and samples over the usual lead guitar heroics. 2010’s Judy plays like a comfortable follow-up, as if the long delay between releases never happened and the world stayed in the same place. But there’s a timeless allure to the pumped-up pop of “Soul School” where the sunshine practically reflects off the sidewalk and hits you square on the shoulder. The less than a minute “Half Brick” plays like a mock return to the arena stage. The title track sounds like an AM radio hit from 1972 with its subtle country hues shading the pop tune and its perfect harmonies with just the right amount of sweet studio serenity. “Free Love” trips out with a warped-up psychedelia. “The Roll of Characteristics (Of History In The Making)” sounds like a band tumbling through the backyard finding new instruments as they graze in the grass. Bob Dylan’s “The Mighty Quinn” comes off like an early-‘70s funk number with the electric piano leading the way.
Music Videos
- 2012
You Might Also Like
- Teenage Fanclub & Jad Fair
- The Charlatans
- The Beta Band
- Black Grape