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On their first full length New York (NY) combo The Lisps seem intent on reassembling indie pop and Americana in fresh, fun ways.
The four piece (Sammy Tunis vocals/melodica/tambourine, Cesar Alvarez vocals/guitar/melodica, Jeremy Hoevenaar bass/backing vocals, Eric Farber drumset/percussion/objects) start with the basic rock set up (vocals/guitar/bass/drums) but this is just the starting point. Its as if these musicians haven't found a bit of Americana they didn't want to plunder. This is a great thing! If vaudeville was about variety and real pop is about hooks and variety... well here's the best of both worlds (which means they were one world to begin with, it just takes a band with vision to point that out).
The album starts off with the almost-country semi-twang of "Brackish Water" then quickly moves into the song "Chaos". The second track practically comes bubbling, bursting, bouncing out of the speakers like classic Beat Happening or contemporary folk-punks This Bike is a Pipe Bomb (or Judy and the Loadies but nobody remembers them). By the third track ("Heaven") you should know that you're in for quite a ride, like stepping on a home-spun roller coaster. There's plenty of twists, turns and bounds along the way. You'll hear bits of roots music, klezmer like flourishes, mariachi inspired trumpet ("Compromise") and sinister sing-a-longs ("Depravity"). All of these assorted elements are carefully welded to a foundation of strum-pop that could've have found a home (once-upon-a-time) on K Records.
Like clever popsters before them (Decemberists, Cassettes, Vaselines) the Lisps harken back to the Golden Age of Pop in the 60's. The recording is smart and dark but is laden with amazing hooks and wonderfully sweet melodies and harmony that these songs insidiously work their way into your brain where they demand to be heard again and again.
Luckily this CD has so much going on that repeated listenings are thoroughly rewarded and you'll love repeated dips into the (blood laced) conscious-stream of the Lisps.
PS: I love the soaked bandage effect of the album cover, too.
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