Over the past several years, many bands have been recapping the post-punk movement of the early eighties, while the rest of them are obsessed with reviving the sixties or seventies. With those genres slowly (but surely) being driven into the ground, it’s semi-refreshing to hear the nineties sound The Eaves’ debut album is celebrating. This newly formed Ace Fu trio focuses more on the likings of the 4AD label and Manchester pop acts, than the gritty danceable aggression that is flooding the current music scene. With ST, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot that is out of place, which in this case, is the main thing holding The Eaves back from exploring the unknown. Sometimes when you opt to keep things too simple, you give the jaded listener nothing to remember you by.
Although the bulk of this album is pretty easy going and uneventful, there are moments of faultless pop structure. Listening to The Eaves might immediately make you think of bands like The Sundays, The Smiths, or even elements of late-era Cocteau Twins. The song “Celebration,” actually begins with a guitar riff that could camouflage itself anywhere on Interpol’s Turn on the Bright Lights. Ethereal keyboards and soothing vocals of Jen Adam then marry this intro to make this the one of the only memorable highlights of the album. “Bird Lawyer” and “The Good Fear” are the only other songs here that hold up to “Celebration.” The rest seem to bleed together, leaving little to the imagination. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though, because in the end, The Eaves are very successful at concocting simple pop music with great ease.
1. Summer Gold
2. Special Feeling
3. Celebration
4. Top Drawer Man
5. Bird Lawyer
6. Oars To Heaven
7. The Good Fear
More about: The Eaves
