Even though the largely
emo
-based
Polyvinyl Records
doesn't seem like the most natural home for
Saturday Looks Good to Me
's winsome, nostalgic
pop
, the undeniable emotional pull and heartfelt delivery of
Fred Thomas
and company's music makes it a better fit than one might expect.
All Your Summer Songs
, the group's fifth album and
Polyvinyl
debut, is another triumph, expressing the complexities of being in and out of love with deceptively naive music and lyrics that are wise beyond their years. While
Motown
,
Phil Spector
, and
the Beach Boys
still exert a strong influence on
's sound -- especially on
"Alcohol"
and
"Ultimate Stars"
-- the band explores an entire bandwidth of AM radio moments, ranging from the
"Itchycoo Park"
drum fills on
"Meet Me by the Water"
; the
Peter & Gordon
-esque acoustic guitars on
"No Good with Secrets"
; and the
Byrdsy
jangle of
"You Work All Weekend,"
which sounds like said band backing
the Magnetic Fields
'
Stephin Merritt
. And while
Thomas
has as much reverence for -- not to mention ability to create -- a perfectly written two-and-a-half-minute
song as
Merritt
does, his music sounds fresher and less contrived despite its retro allusions. Indeed, aside from pleasing record collectors and oldies geeks, the reconfiguration of sounds past that makes up
's style gives their music a timeless yet fresh feel that also has an instant familiarity.
"Caught"
"Typing"
(which also includes the priceless lyric "You spent such a long time typing/That you forgot how to write letters") are twinkling
confections ready for cameos on the
soundtrack
to a
Wes Anderson
movie, while
"Underwater Heartbeat"
casts singer
Erika Hoffmann
as a lovelorn mermaid. Along with
Hoffmann
also features indie luminaries and long-time
SLGTM
auxiliary members like
Ted Leo
Dan Littleton
Matthew Smith
Karla Schickele
Jessica Bailiff
, although
himself sings the album's most painfully intimate songs, such as
"The Sun Doesn't Want to Shine"
and the title track's slow-motion breakup lament. Even so, a wistful feeling pervades even the album's most upbeat moments; songs that start out bright and bouncy often end with a sigh. Sonically, the album is slightly more polished than the band's earlier works, but not by much; though
"Ambulance,"
one of their best songs, appears in a cleaner, lusher version here, the album was still recorded mostly on four-track and still features the abrupt starts and stops and interludes that give the group's work a dreamy, stream-of-consciousness feel. Ultimately,
is quintessential
, which should delight old and new fans of the band alike. ~ Heather Phares