Album Reviews |

Pernice Brothers

The World Won't End 8 ( 2001 )
Working Girls / 7:30 / Our Time Has Passed / She Heightened Everything / Bryte Side / Let That Show / Shaken Baby / Flaming Wreck / The Ballad Of Bjorn Borg / Endless Supply / Cronulla Breakdown

Occasionally, I buy an album on the basis of having heard a song, a single song and having fallen in love with it. Even more occasionally, i'm not sure who that song is by, but I have an idea, and buy the album anyway. Sometimes it turns out i've been mistaken and bought the wrong album, by a different act altogether. Which is the way it turned with this album here. This doesn't include the song i'd heard ( i forget what song that actually was now ) and i'm sure isn't even the same band. But, that's not important. It's fun sometimes to buy stuff on a whim, it can introduce you to a group you may never had been introduced to otherwise. For the interest of those who may not be familiar with The Pernice Brothers, they were formed by two brothers, Joe and Bob. Joe Pernice was formely of The Scud Mountain Boys, a more roots-rock orientated band by all accounts. The Pernice Brothers are more pop oriented, well pop-rock, sort of alternative pop. They are six piece band, accompanied here by additional guitars, pedal steel, cello, violin and viola. The sleeve notes tell me four of the group members help provide vocals and backing vocals whilst Joe Pernice sings lead and plays guitar.

I needn't have worried you know, the fact this ended up being an album by a band i'd never heard a single note by, and knew nothing about. Turns out the opening song is absolutely delightful, summery, poppy and with good harmony support, strings, the works. A perfect pop song. '7:30' keeps up a high standard with more impressively accomplished, slighty hazy vocals. 'Our Time Has Passed' displays impeccable song-craft, 'She Heightened Everything' another perfect two and a half minute long pop song, with added violin for good measure. The guitars and vocals throughout the album recalls prime Sixties artists such as The Byrds, just to name one, off the top of my head. They mix their influences well, they don't sound the dead ringer of anyone, but this record will surely please fans of quality, sixties acts such as The Byrds all the same. The production is bang up to-date incidently, no attempt at sounding like a Sixties group in that respect. Some of the songs are better than others of course, not everything works as well as the opening 'Working Girls'. A particular highlight arrives with the ballad 'Shaken Baby', 'Flaming Wreck' which follows on the album even more a highlight with great sounding guitar and strong melodies. 'The Ballad Of Bjorn Borg' is a fascinating song, everything here has a certain intelligence to the structure, these are proper songs we've got here! 'Endless Supply' is another beautiful song, the sound of summer moving into autumn. A lovely album. If you do find yourself with a spare £10 ( or $15 ) and are wondering what to do with it, you could do far worse than investing in this calming, yet uplifting, beautifully recorded album.

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