pants yell!
recent drama • asaurus records / the paper cities • 2006
What sets this young Boston-based trio above most other jangly indiepop bands, aside from the fact that their songs are effortlessly breezy and catchy, is the way they combine wit and wistfulness. Highlights include the echoey instrumental "Our Turf," the Modern Lovers-esque "Don't Take It," and the lovely, lilting, and funny album closer, "Southend-on-Sea," though really every song on this 11-song, 26-minute disc is great. They hearken back to the halcyon early days of Holiday, and if I ran a club in Boston I'd book 'em as an opening act for Human Television. I guess I'm not really adding too much to what Janice already said about their previous album (see below). All you need to know is that this superb disc is the cream of the indiepop crop. (mike.09.06)
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songs for siblings • asaurus records • 2004
almost clem snide: The cd opens with "Go Big Blue", a lovely acoustic tune with pretty finger-picked guitar lines. With a very Clem-like delivery, he sings about high school, and then the Clem-comparision ends as it concludes with an indiepop casio melody, a childish girlie backing vocal, and some handclapped percussion.
almost dean wareham: On the moody, somewhat Luna-esque "Your Favorite Fairgrounds" and then the drone-y Galaxie 500-ish "Directions, Directions".
other bands they remind me of: a dreamier Beat Happening, a more polite Pavement, and their sharp-witted lyrics call to mind Belle & Sebastian for me (particularly on "My Boyfriend Writes Plays").
judging a book by its cover: The cover shown above is actually different from the cover I have. My copy features a duo of playful youngsters circa the 1980's doing what I recall is called a "wheelbarrow" — I thought this design wonderfully captured the playful (and even sometimes wistful) feeling of these songs. The new cover is nice, too, but I like the other one more.
Outta Boston, MA, comes Pants Yell!, a trio of art school students who I detect might be fans of the innocent pop stylings of fellow Bostonian,
Jonathan Richman. However, unlike our beloved JoJo, Pants Yell! don't just use an acoustic guitar and a drumbeat — no, they've also got a Casio or some other electronic keyboard carrying a melody, too. These guys are just great; I can't wait to hear more from them!
(janice.10.04)
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