Author: 54.40

Format: Import

Release Date: 24-07-2015

Details: Amazon.ca If craftsmanship, dependability and intelligence were virtues in rock & roll, this image-free Vancouver quartet would be far more popular. Since bursting upon the Canadian college scene with its supercharged new wave blast "Baby Ran" in 1986, 54-40 have been dependable purveyors of clean-cut, keen-eyed rock and pop that is never groundbreaking but always catchy and original enough to avoid being easily dismissed. Since When, the group's eighth record of self-penned material, is fairly typical of their oeuvre, which is to say the disc includes a couple of hands-down near-perfect pop songs, a bunch of tunes notable for fully realized melodies, cliche-free lyrics and compelling arrangements, and a little filler. The biggest departure is in the use of strings; nearly all the songs benefit from this addition. The opener "In Your Image" boasts a killer violin hook, and violin lends a sense of urgency to the smooth rocker "Lost and Lazy." Later, somnolent cello adds to the mood of the ballad "Playground." But the title track, one of the group's most insistent pop songs, forsakes the strings altogether and glides along blissfully on an electric piano riff. More importantly, throughout the record singer Neil Osborne's voice remains a gracious, humanitarian guide on the tours of the heart he has made his specialty. --Shawn Conner

UPC: 074648033621

EAN: 0074648033621

Languages: english

Binding: Audio CD

Item Condition: UsedVeryGood