eMusic Review 0
The second album from the British Columbian band takes up where their 2006 dance-punk debut left off. Like so many of their peers, You Say Party look back to the harder, leaner, cooler cultural times of the late '70s/early '80s for inspiration, with their funky, skidmarked guitars, squawking organ and high-metabolic rhythm section. These skinny, frantic pellets of power pop recall, in flashes, the B-52s, Pylon, the Comsat Angels, even Siouxsie & the Banshees (“Moon”). “Downtown Mayors Goodnight, Alley Kids Rule!” is a real Top Cat-style, post-punk celebration of outdoor dancing; “Like I Give a Care,” with its bullhorn vocals, summons images of an armed pom-pom girl rebellion.
But while there's a lot of conspicuous, if highly enjoyable, homage it's Krista Loewen's organ sound which lends You Say Party a contemporary sheen, adding velveteen, droning layers to “Poison” or a subtle nagging on “Giant Hands.” Then there's the piano-and-vocal-led “You're Almost There.” More than just a quiet moment, the song feels like a metamorphosis — as if this is You Say Party “for real,” beneath the party-punk mask.
