Sunday, April 13, 2008

Sunday Morning Coffee:: The I Spies

The I Spies are one of those bands inspired by the likes of XTC, The Clash and Television. While all of those bands are terrific, I usually find that any band trying to emulate their angular sounds ends up in my sames-y, discard pile. With the success of bands like Franz Ferdinand and We Are Scientists and the subsequent run-off of new bands hoping to get lucky, every crunchy riff has been rehashed in every possible facet.

That being said, I think if I stripped a few of those bands from the I Spies myspace details/press page - well, I'd be a lot more open minded about the sounds. In reality, their songs are big and the record is full of catchy melodies. The guitar work soars and swells and the organs and synths fit into any little empty pocket left over. I don't really sit down and listen to pulsing anthems very often, but the tracks on In the Night really show this Toronto band is certainly onto something.

They don't seem interested in wearing tight pants and having well coiffed hair, but are certainly concerned with making sure you are having a good time. While a lot of the tracks can be summed up with words like shimmering or crunchy, it's the subtle hint of reggae on Are You Talking To Yourself Again really peaked my interest. It's destined to be a summer anthem for TO young-ens. They collaborate with Small Sins front man Thom D'Arcy on a few numbers - the stand out being To the City - and they manage to escapes the snotty cynicism that most post punkers deliver, and shift the vibe into a more fun loving affair.

What can I say? I was able to throw on this record and not once hit ">>". A couple of tracks really grabbed me and considering how uninterested I was to even give this record a listen, imagine how much you will like it if you like any of those new fangled new-new wave bands?

To the City
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Posted at 11:25 AM by ack :: 0 comments

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