Ah, to harken back to the days when pop was truly king, before this whole "art" thing came into the fold. Apparently, Nedelle and Thom have come along to remind us of Burt Bacharach, Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield, et al, and their smooth, smile-inducing, radio-friendly ditties. As much as many of the artists who have better stood the test of time despised them, the popsters had some real talent at either crafting or performing really great melodies. So, to pull off a re-creation, Nedelle and Thom would have to have at least some of that gold. And as their blip on the radar screen of Kill Rock Stars would indicate, their songcraft is right on.
Nedelle's vocals are smooth and unaffecting, with some nice vibrato -- an element all too unused with today's songwriter/kind-of singers. The melodies are equally pleasing, taking jazzed up verses like those heard on "It's Up To You" and "In Time It Snows," to the flourishing choruses of "You Take Me You Break Me" and "Puddle at Your Toes." Thom's nimble guitar work is paired with Karate's Jeff Goddard and Gavin McCarthy on bass and drums, respectively, to form a modern-day session band that easily has the chops to play on all the hits. The album is also well-balanced between ballads and the more sugary selections, an under-estimated consideration given what four slow or four faster-paced songs in a row would do kick in the attention deficit of the average listener.
The pair's real clever work comes in the lyric department, though. Mostly they're content to write cute love songs that only add to the breezy mood, but they're also products of their contrarian generation, and I think we'd all be damned if they didn't take advantage of a good chance to juxtapose the harmless nature of pop songs against occasionally fleeting societal commentary and old-fashioned swear words. They're bringing the giggle factor in full, but oh does it work! The blazing example "Cute Things" is a pretty hilarious take on ruling through fear, but very effective in showing how silly our politicians are with all of its examples of innocence that find a way to exist despite threats of "the bomb." Then the chorus, which crosses every ironic boundary you'd hope for with its ringing optimistic tone: "Stand in line/spend every dime/ while there's time to buy."
1. You Take Me You Break Me
2. Care for Me
3. It's Up to You
4. Puddle at Your Toes
5. You Know
6. Sun in My Eyes
7. Counting Shit
8. In Time It Snows
9. He Cursed Me
10. Cute Things
11. Lullaby