Sunday, July 18, 2010

"Optimistic Fool" by The Pooh Sticks.

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The Pooh Sticks are a band that are in love with melody. In the same vein as early '90s acts such as The Posies, or Gin Blossoms, they craft a style of Americana, fun, upbeat rock that just didn't linger on the musical scene for very long. There are a lot of harmonies flying around on this record, whether it be guitars or vocals, which only adds to their sincerity. The lyrics are clever, and mostly memorable. "Prayer for My Demo" stood out in this regard. While all these factors seemed to mesh well in execution, and production, The Pooh Sticks still seemed to fall flat for me somewhere. If I had to, I'd trace it back to the guitars simply strumming the chord progressions. There was too little articulation, so the songs seemed indistinct. A more deliberate approach to playing the songs (adding some melodic riffs, build-ups, stops, etc.) would have benefitted the record greatly, but even then, I get the feeling I wouldn't have enjoyed it enough to hear it again. Although strongly melodic and well done in general, it was still simply a type of music I find struggling to hold my attention.

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