Parrot Flies/Romantic Comedy

Parrot Flies - Algernon Cadwallader (Hot Green, 2011)
Remember the mid and late 90s when emo wasn't a bad word and instead was a sub-genre of punk music with respectable let alone fantastic bands such as Cap'n Jazz, Braid, The Promise Ring, etc? Yeah, me too. Well, I believe I mentioned this before, but there's this 90s midwest emo revival that's taking place on the east coast, and it's breeding some pretty cool bands. This past summer, the cream of that crop, Algernon Cadwallader, dropped their second full length, Parrot Flies, and it is a doozy. The melodic, yelly vocals and bright, noodly, waterfall guitars make it hard not to compare the band to Cap'n Jazz, American Football, Owls, Ghosts and Vodka or really any of those Kinsella projects. And, while, on each of their releases, but especially Parrot Flies, the songs can kind of run together and start sounding the same, Algernon still has found a way to sound shamelessly classic emo while adding a fresh, modern twist thanks to their pure pop sensibility. I haven't faced any difficulty in getting over the blatant homage paying and lack of variety here, because the band does such an incredible job at recreating this sound and feeling that was so huge to me in high school and early college. I'm tempted to say that Algernon are at least on par with those classic bands mentioned above, and I feel weird about it, but it's basically true. Parrot Flies is simply excellent.


Romantic Comedy - Big Troubles (Slumberland, 2011)
Having just released a solid if not totally good fuzz pop full length debut last year in Worry, Big Troubles were quickly snatched up by indie pop mecca Slumberland Records and here they are with their classy follow-up. While all the fuzz and shitty production on Worry probably brought to mind The Jesus and Mary Chain, Romantic Comedy is a cleaner affair. It's still definitely an 80s album, but there are enough breezy vocals and 60s pop details on a few tracks to make this not a direct clone of The Cure (even though there are songs that sound quite a bit like said band). The band features two young songwriting talents, and their songs are pretty much lights out here (the best being "She Smiles for Pictures," "Make It Worse" and "Sad Girls"). Romantic Comedy isn't quite perfect (there are one or two songs that are just good as opposed to great or one of the best of the year), but it's not far off. The icing on the cake is that the record was produced by Mitch Easter (yes, THAT Mitch Easter). One could argue that as good as Worry was the way it sounded, the production on Romantic Comedy may be a little too nice. But, I'll put the kabosh on that, as it perfectly suits these crisp, finely crafted tunes. I am in love with this record.