Even when Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin were on official leave between albums, we kept them in our thoughts — especially when their namesake went on permanent hiatus. But SSLYBY made it through that difficult time, name in tact. And somewhere along the way after the awesome Broom LP Someone discovered Pinback. With that Abbadon-style injection into the band’s indie pop-perfect Elliott Smith and Beatles bedsit sound, we figured “Half-Awake (Deb)” to be a sure sign of slightly mathier things to come. “Glue Girls” doesn’t fully flesh out that prognostication, although the grooves do ceaselessly shift; instead it’s the vocals that bear signs of evolution here, and when the Yeltsins power up their pop (as in around 3:10), it’s almost like those backing melodies came from Rob Crow, by way of Adam Schelsinger.
Great start to the album, no? After a preliminary spin, we’re thinking it’ll turn some heads. This isn’t music designed to bulldoze boundaries as much as it is the sound of a band working within a certain (and treasured) pop paradigm, distilling from past masters a superior sense of smarts and craft. And it’s refreshing to have a band survive a hypestorm and come out sounding fresh, well studied, and amongst the finest in the present crop of young indie-pop songwriters. “The Beach Song,” “Boring Fountain,” “Some Constellation” … the kids are alright.
Pershing is out 4/8 on Polyvinyl.
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i like it
awesome
also these dudes called the Blue Ribbon Glee Club are playing w/ SSLYBY in Chicago in a few weeks. they do punk classics, a’capella style. pretty rad. here’s them doing fugazi!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBqRwmdzSQQ
This is great! Pinback I don’t hear so much, more power pop ala Fountains of Wayne and a lil bit of Sloan. Only a teensy bit, though.
I second the FoW sound, for sure.
Best new song I’ve heard in ’08! These guys have come a long way in just 2 years.
Completely awesome. Seems they’ve gone a bit hi(er)-fi on us. I love it.
Where is SSLYBY playing in Chicago?? I would love to see them
Mid 90′s Matthew Sweet-ish more than anything else, if you ask me. Which is nice. Real nice.
Bender Bending Rodriguez:
Matthew Sweet – that is totally OTM.
This song is so good!
shit ya for a’capella fugazi.