The Courtneys - The Courtneys II
- Written by Rob Crozier
Fresh from their first album success, Canada’s punk pop band The Courtneys are back. The trio are a shot in the proverbial arm and return with the unimaginative title The Courtneys II released on the wonderful New Zealand based label Flying Nun.
The album opens with the lead single ’Silver Velvet’, one of the catchiest and infectious records I have heard in a while. It's perfectly balanced between new and exciting, complete with fuzzy guitars and driving bass lines. Yet there are obvious nods to the nostalgia of 1990s heyday; the band happily to disclose their influences in giants as Teenage Fanclub and Pavement. ‘Silver Velvet’ is just one of those feel-good singles that you want to hear again and again. It's slick and modestly produced, catchy without being too pop. Dangerous yet accessible.
The album thankfully continues is the same vein. ‘The Country Song’ and ‘Minnesota’ carry those guitar hooks mixed up in a wonderful fuzz made by Courtney Loove. Once the driving bass lines produced by Sydney Koke and the drumming of Jen Twynn Payne are blended we have a recipe that is pop punk heaven. ‘Tour’ is a perfect illustration of the power the trio can generate. It's brilliantly infectious with excellent guitar work, yet the power from bass and drum is the real beauty.
‘Lost Boys’ is another single release, differing in a many ways from other tracks on the album. The first obvious difference is the length. At over six minutes it's hardly the driving new punk sounds of its previous counterparts. It's slower and more methodical. However, it shows the band's creative juices and displays their obvious obsession with the lost decades. It also allows them to demonstrate that they are much more than a three-minute song band, with ‘Lost Boys’ highlighting their skills in producing longer more thought provoking material.
‘Virgo’ and ‘25’ return the album to its more familiar format of infectious songs that keep your head bobbing along rather like a plastic dog in the back of a car. If you were to be picky, it could be argued that as the albums moves along it doesn’t carry the same power and infectious content, although it's still wonderfully addictive. ‘Iron Deficiency’ is – apart from having one of the best names ever – rather different, concentrating on vocal delivery to come across much more relaxed.
The album finishes with ‘Mars Attacks’ – a cautionary tale, dressed up with some beautiful lead guitar work, of the imposing danger of an attack from creatures from Mars. The final track ‘Frankie’ brings together all the previous elements displayed throughout the album. It's full of catchy guitar loops and driving bass lines and also features one of the strongest lyrical performances on the album. It certainly leaves you wanting a whole lot more.
If you were to listen to one album this week, it has to be The Courtneys II. Its jangled nostalgic indie punk sounds so fresh I found myself clicking play again and again. I can't wait for more to come from the band.