Ahhh, let me return to the sanity and comfort of the Album Club thread.
Paradise in the Picturehouse – The Stunning
This album gets off to a terrific start. As others have noted “Brewing up a Storm” has a touch of Blue Oyster Cult about it, and there’s a nice sax break too. “Romeo’s on Fire” is equally good, sounding like Calexico Mariachi-style rock with that trumpet blasting. It’s a nice lilting melody and things get even better with a nice bit of accordion during the bridge.
The BPM keeps on keeping on with “Got to Get Away”. For some reason, I can’t help picturing cowboys riding out of a Western town as I listen. The song rumbles on with a great bridge and harmonica before reaching its conclusion.
The next two songs are pleasant but fairly forgettable after which the driving sound and harmony vocals of “The Girl with the Curl” are welcome. I like the ebb and flow on “Roll and Tumble” and the instruments are great: some acoustic guitar at the start and then the fact that it is driven along by the accordion, joined by the trumpet near the end.
I think “Town for Sale” is the best song on the album – a nice vibe and rhythm coupled with some poignant, nostalgic lyrics. The closing three tracks, some of which appear to have been recorded live are OK but nothing special.
Overall, I really liked this album. I don’t think there’s a truly great song on there, but most of the tracks have repeat listen value, feature some nice instrumentation and are well played and sung, so I’ll give it
7/10. Great choice by
@mancity2012_eamo because I’m sure The Stunning are a band that most of us haven’t heard before.