Bishop Allen - Grrr...

Remember from Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, the band that played after The Jerk-Offs? That's Bishop Allen. I had no idea the new Bishop Allen record was coming out until I saw it on iTunes. I hadn't listened to them much since The Broken String came out, so I heard some of it. Unfortunately I couldn't hear all of it, because I couldn't find any place that had the whole album (thanks a lot, grooveshark). The songs I listened to were Dimmer, The Ancient Commonsense of Things, True or False, Oklahoma, and Dirt on Your New Shoes, so that's basically my anchor for this vague review. It's very laid back and relaxing, like they're just having fun coming out with some enjoyable, cute tracks. I like that. They don't have the constant pressure from a big record label like Capitol, or Interscope. Plus, they have got the most adorable little album cover! You can't not love that, right? But maybe it's a little too laid back. I just wish it had some more exciting tracks on it. Dirt On Your New Shoes is about as far as it goes. The other ones like The Ancient Commonsense of Things and Dimmer are just kind of fun, feel-good tunes. Don't get me wrong, they're catchy and they have somewhat strong melodies. I enjoy listening to them a lot. And I'm sure they have lots of fun playing live. They just need that extra push that The Broken String had with songs like Click Click Click Click and Middle Management.



-Julian