Formats
LCR025 - CD
600197888827
Details
The Brunettes have a meticulous craft in the studio. Writing pop songs, that most fickle of forms, requires a precision that comes naturally to the band, and their records ring perfection in every note. Their sense of fun firmly intact, The Brunettes inject their new batch of songs with a sense of modernity on Paper Dolls. Opener "In Colours" and closer "Thank You" are the entrance and exit into this world, as both sit comfortably with previous efforts; in between, however, principal songwriter Jonathan Bree augments his pop leanings with drum machines and an intimidatingly wide array of synths to fantastic effect. Lyrically, the album combines clever call-and-response levity, an undercurrent of smoldering romance, and a penchant for idiosyncratic storytelling. All are on display on lead single "Red Rollerskates," which finds Bree and co-lead vocalist / instrumentalist Heather Mansfield solving a relatively ordinary problem (Bree walks too fast for his asthmatic girlfriend) with an unusual solution (buying her a pair of red rollerskates and pulling her around with a rope). On "The Crime Machine," Mansfield longs to live as a 1920s kingpin, while "Bedroom Disco" lives up to its title as a stay-at-home party song. The album's title track combines surreal lyrics about a stationery fetish with Bondmovie string arrangements and guitar tremolo. A concise 35 minutes, Paper Dolls reaffirms the glory of a simple melody. "Thank you for the time," Mansfield sings to close out the record. So polite, those New Zealanders.
Tracks
1. In Colours
2. Red Rollerskates
3. The Crime Machine
4. Bedroom Disco
5. Paper Dolls
6. Connection
7. It?s Only Natural
8. Magic (No Bunny)
9. If I
10. Thank You
Press
N/A