The Belles
Album:
Omerta
I’m pretty sure I’ve sworn off nice pop records a hundred times. Some sort of social consciousness bug invades my system and I swear I’ll never listen to simple lyrics of love again. But I always crack.
Omerta is a fine record to crack to. The Belles are, surprisingly, only a duo - Christopher Tolle and Jake Cardwell - from Lawrence, Kansas (the stomping grounds of American pop legends The Embarassment), but the sound is anything but sparse.
Filled with power-pop and indie-rock allusions, the record will get a lot of references to other bands whose name start with ‘B’ – Beatles, Big Star, Beach Boys – and that’s not a bad comparison. The opener, "So, I Sing" is a bit of chamber-pop with what sounds like a mellotron and some gorgeously lush backing vocals, while "You Can’t Have It All" rocks with a bit of acid lead guitar seemingly lifted directly from a Buffalo Springfield record.
Jeremy Saperstein is an all-around bon vivant, music junkie and master of strenturgent.com. He wrote copiously (some would say compulsively) for sites and 'zines around the country until the recent birth of his son. Now he has frequent waking dreams of sleep.
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