Suddenly

The Sports, with producer Peter Solley behind the controls again, returned to the studio to follow up their hugely successful Don’t Throw Stones album, hoping that the magic that created that LP was still in them. Indeed, the magic was still there, but the songs weren’t. Although they are fully formed three-minute slices of Aussie pop/rock, the melodies aren’t as immediate and engaging as before. There are moments that are equal to the previous album, including “Strangers on a Train,” “Never Catch Her,” “Oh Mama No,” and the title track, but those high points don’t occur quite as often. Some songs seem half-baked (“It Hurts,” “Murmurs,” “I Tried to Love Her”), while others need to be dissected and have their choruses replaced with better ones (“Between Us,” “The Lost and the Lonely”). Through it all, Stephen Cummings’ “angry young man” vocals are energetic and spirited and the band is tight and inspiring. On the mellow tracks, the band really shines, with Cummings’ vocals as passionate as they come and the band as inventive as ever (“Blue Hearts,” “Perhaps,” and “Go”). Although they had so much potential, the Sports were not able to match the near brilliance of Don’t Throw Stones on this release, although they certainly tried. Sometime between the Australian release of this album and its U.S. release, the Sports had lost their keyboard player and drummer and even more of their magic. – Steve “Spaz” Schnee