Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Album Review: The Courtney's - II

The Courtney's 
II
**** out of *****

The melodic female trio The Courtney's hail from Vancouver, BC and on their strong second album continue to craft blissful indie-pop that is straight out of 1992 while fluttering gorgeously directly into 2017.

Each of the ten tracks here could be a single with their melodic ring, lightly fuzzed guitars and head bopping beats. "Minnesota" was the first one to jump out with it's shuffling drums and angular guitar solo, but the formula is the same for almost all of the numbers here. Gorgeously layered vocals that pair beautifully over teenage day dream lyrics while the guitar and bass stretches and sways behind.

"Silver Velvet" and "Country Song" open things in this vein with the latter running longer, letting the players strum. "Tour" kicks up the urgency as the group speeds down the highway to the next gig and cooks with an immediacy that places the listener in the van wit the trio. The bass and march step to the forefront for the elongated "Lost Boys" which calls back to the movie and vampire teenage boyfriends and even while running seven minutes stays engaging and fresh.    

If are detriments one could point to bland lyrics on some tracks ("Iron Deficiency" comes to mind) as well as the fact that there isn't a track that is an instant must hear and in this genre that makes the whole album feel a bit light. In comparison to say Bleached Welcome The Worms (a bit more rock orientated sure, but same style) which has the standout "Wednesday Night Serenade".  However like that album, the majority of the efforts remain top notch.

The shimmying sing-a-long "Mars Attacks" and the bubbling rumble of "Frankie" close the disk out on solid notes, cementing it as a must hear for fans of this genre. Instantly catchy and engaging, perfect summer music for convertible driving, The Courtney's II is a slice of indie-pop heaven that shines with charm and confidence.
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Support the band, buy the album or stream it below or on bandcamp and peep some video below:


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