Skip to content
DVDfever.co.uk – Bishop Allen: Grrr… CD reviewElly Roberts reviews
Dead Oceans Records
- Released: March 2009
- Rating: 6/10
- Vote and comment on this album:View Comments
Number three from NY indie rockers.
New York seems to be bristling with talent these days, what with Lady Gaga and MGTM all doing rather well.
Here comes another indie pop- rockers Bishop Allen fronted by Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, supported by a host of musical collaborators.
These Harvard graduates havent exactly caught on like musical stablemates Arcade Fire, and its hard to see Grrr brining them much UK attention as half-decent it is, though there isnt much real Grrr about this album.
Nevertheless, it has an undeniably quaint charm all of its own, and will definitely grow on you.
The ditties are whimsical enough to appeal across age ranges, with songs seamlessly melting into each other and are quite catchy to be truthful. In fact the album gets better as it unfolds showing a wide range of influences from say Jonathan Richmond Dimmer / The Magpie to The Kinks Tiger, Tiger.
Grrr… opens with a flurry of universal popiness, especially the radio-friendly groovy basslines on The Lion And Tea Cup which eventually unleashes some down-and-dirty guitar solos and a whopping chorus, followed by a far more expansive gem South China Tea, while Oklahoma comes more packaged as an out-and-out happy-go-lucky potential single.
True Or False sounds like something like something out of a recent Beirut songbook, especially the brass injections. Its carried by some wonderful lead vocals by Darbie Nowatka, and stylish percussion by an appropriately named Michael Tapper. Again this would make a great single for BBC Radio 2s playlist.
Follow-on Shanghaied is a rip-roaring slice of wackiness.
The verdict I like it. So will you.
May gig dates:
- May 06 Manchester @ Cafe Saki
- May 07 London @ Bardens Boudoir
- May 08 Cardiff @ Clwb
- May 09 Reading @ Oakford
- May 10 Brixton @ The Windmill
Weblinks:bishopallen.com /deadocenas.com
Radio: Hear tracks soon on THE PLUG atwrexham.com
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Dimmer
2. The Lion And The Tea Cup
3. South China Moon
4. Dirt On Your New Shoes
5. Oklahoma
6. The Ancient Commonsense Of Things
7. True Or False
8. Rooftop Brawl
9. Shanghaied
10. Dont Hide Away
11. Cue The Elephants
12. The Magpie
13. Tiger, TigerView the discussion thread.blog comments powered by Disqus= 0) {query += ‘url’ + i + ‘=’ + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + ‘&’;}}document.write(”);})();//]]]]>]]>
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.