Teenage Symphonies To God

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Total Tracks: 12   Total Length: 45:41

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James Sullivan

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James Sullivan is the author of several books, including biographies of James Brown (The Hardest Working Man) and George Carlin (Seven Dirty Words). He writes f...more »

06.30.09
Guaranteed to make you "Smile"
1994 | Label: 550 Music - Epic

Rhode Islanders tend to focus on the little things, but these adoptive Ocean Staters went after the big questions on their second album, released in 1994. Namely, what makes the purest power pop so transcendent? Borrowing Brian Wilson's great quote about his elusive opus "Smile," Teenage Symphonies to God finds the sweet spot again and again in its shimmering 45 minutes, from the heavenly arena heft of "Hold Me Up" to the very "Girlfriend"-like "Something's Gotta Give" (written by Matthew Sweet, who produced the band's debut; Mitch Easter did this one).

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Velvet Crush’s second album is an old-fashioned pop record: 12 songs in 40 minutes, filled with ultra-melodic guitar hooks and simple, memorable melodies. While it’s traditional in form, the music on Teenage Symphonies to God isn’t retro. Velvet Crush manage to inject a real enthusiasm and freshness in the standard three-minute pop song, whether they’re playing originals that sound like forgotten classics (“Time Wraps Around You,” “This Life is Killing Me,” “My Blank Pages,” “Hold Me Up”) or forgotten classics themselves (Gene Clark’s “Why Not Your Baby” and Matthew Sweet’s “Something’s Gotta Give”). With a crisp, warm production from Mitch Easter, Teenage Symphonies to God is one record that deserves to take its title from Brian Wilson. – Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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