Since someone had mentioned Holiday to the list, I figured this might be of interest. It's a review of their new album that appeared in this month's CMJ magazine. The album was "recommended if you like Magnetic Fields, Orange Juice, and Belle and Sebastian." So, here it is: ---On its last record _Ready, Steady, Go!_, Holiday had all of the makings of great lounge-pop, but couldn't piece the puzzle together. Lush horns and sweet melodies don't mean much without great hooks. On _Café Reggio_, the quartet has discovered a lot of what they were missing. Josh Gennet's spry vocal lines are immediately hummable, shimmying between the jazzy guitar lines. The album opener, "There's a Place," floats along like a dingy kissed by the summer breeze. The song might not be a classic, but it's close. With the help of Dave Max on flugelhorn, trumpet, and trombone, Holiday shows it can churn out rich and reverent arrangements using just a handful of people. Giddy rave-ups like "Something About You" and "Just Follow" are perfect fare for your next soiree at the cabana. Unfortunately, only eight out of the 12 tracks here are new. The last four are from the band's early single, "New Year's Anything," which included a cover of the Magnetic Fields' "Candy." Here the Brooklyn band rides the crest between new wave and indie rock with moderate success. Holiday has since moved its sound forward quite a bit by borrowing more from the '60s. Heck, if they had been around 30 years ago, these guys would probably be gigging with Dionne Warwick in Reno right about now.--- So, there you go. Just for anyone who was curious. I have the album, and I love it. Good stuff. ta, Amanda ------------------------ Amanda Bergman Northwestern University a-bergman@nwu.edu "¿En qué te ofendo, cuando sólo intento poner bellezas en mi entendimiento y no mi entendimiento en las bellezas?" --Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz ----------------------------------------------------------------------- . This message was brought to you by the Sinister mailing list. . To send to the list please mail "sinister@majordomo.net". . For subscribing, unsubscribing and other list information please see . http://www.majordomo.net/sinister . For questions about how the list works mail owner-sinister@majordomo.net . We're all happy bunnies humming happy bunny tunes. Aren't we? -----------------------------------------------------------------------