Ahhhhh….
To paraphrase Joni Mitchell, you don’t know how much you’ve missed something ’till it’s back again. Yet another oddity amongst UK bands, SFA don’t know the meaning of the word “dreary”. Every release is more summery and technicolored than the last, and nothing has changed on their latest, Hey Venus! ‘Run-Away’ is the obvious choice for the single, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a distillation of everything the band does well: take the bouncier, more joyous elements of mid-60s English psychedelia, and frame it inside a perfect synthesis of every other style they can lay their ears on. Let’s go down the list, shall we?
Spector-esque Wall of Sound percussion and vocals? Check.
Sublime, layered Beach Boys harmonies? Check.
Bittersweet, confessional abstract lyrics, a la Pavement? Check.
Tight, catchy songcraft on a par with Teenage Fanclub? Check.
All tied together with a chorus that can barely be contained.
It doesn’t really matter what Punxsutawney Phil sees on Saturday; summer just got here early this year.
