quote:
Originally posted by dudley
i bet their review will crucify us 8)
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/d/dudley-corporation/in-love-with-the-dudley-corporation.shtml
This Irish three-piece conveniently offers a succinct blueprint of their catch-all indie rock with "Colossus", the opening salvo of their sophomore long-player. If only all bands were so economical and thoughtful. Clean acoustic guitar tones skip spryly as frontman Dudley Colley sings, lulling you into a comfy, downy softness. He's going on about his favorite topic: self-doubt, and its destructive nature on his personal relations with the opposite sex. "I wanted your eyes to oversee my graceless ways," he pleads. A triangle chimes in the background; it's all very bittersweet. But just when you think everything's about to wrap-up with a helpless Charlie Brown sigh, the Duds switch gears and plow right through the garage door.
Crusty guitars on loan from Mogwai crash in and, before you get a chance to see if your CD player has switched discs while you were sleeping, drummer Joss Mookens is treading a speedy double-bass while bassist Pip Moore (once again, real name) anchors the sudden high-flying rock'n'roll attack. The caper quickly concludes and, like a market-tested 30-second spot, this Corporation clues you in on the quick-cut, stop-start, loud-soft pattern that runs throughout much of In Love With, which was originally released in Europe last year. It's an appealing gambit at first but the anti-forumula-formula tires quickly, revealing the record's most trenchant moments to be the ones that groove instead of jerk.
"To Angels and Dead Friends" barely rises above a whisper but its Mozzy affectations soothes with hushed sincerity. "Is my soul elegant enough?" asks Colley, portraying a portrait of a beleaguered artist haunted by Catholic guilt in the face of young lust. "Your skin tears at my nails/ Your skirt slips at my hands," he croons, "As you open up to sin." Brushstroke drums and a playful banjo enter as the singer offers a bit of sweet melodic cooing after rationalizing his actions with poetic poise: "Angels and dead friends/ Crouching around our bed/ To look on and love with us." With little fanfare, the intimate track click-clacks into the distance but its tender sentiment abides.
Too often though, Dudley's confessions lean on the side of whiney self-pity. "I owe you, I owe you, I owe you/ Your downfall," he implores on "Glance," which takes the group's rapid-fire whiplash tactics to their logical extreme. The punky minute-and-a-half whirlwind "Blessed Are the Strong" is mired in banal office-drone banter like, "Half my life's been lost forever/ Pleasing evil awful people." Statements like these ring hollow amid the pummeling blasts of upbeat, technically-proficient yet swaggerless instrumentation.
Initially coming off as part Yorkeian wail, part Malkmus shrug, Colley's delivery ultimately lacks both the haunting reaches of the former and the endearing quirks of the latter. Still, when loosely tempered, this Corporation can pull off the heart-tugging-on-sleeve indie rock thing with aplomb; between all the stop-on-a-dime showiness are simple songs looking for some breathing room.
-Ryan Dombal, May 19, 2005