Big Orange Crayonmusical thingsMy Dear Ella What a Beautiful Child The first time I listened to this CD, the first thought that popped into my head was "Oh no, they're trying to be Radiohead." First impressions can be important but they're not everything, especially when they might cause you to miss out on something pleasant. Several of these songs do sound an awful lot like the ghost of Thom Yorke (who isn't dead) is being invoked, like how their vocals get that distinct warble from time to time, and the melodies seem like they could be from O.K. Computer tracks that never quite made it, but it doesn't have the feel of a cynical attempt to duplicate Radiohead's success by sounding like them, it just sounds like they really like them. Besides, the only tracks that are really like that are the first two. Otherwise, most of the tracks are somewhat Beatles-esque ballads, not the Oasis kind of cold imitation, but just in the sense that they're pretty and slow without backing down from pop listenability. My favorite is "But You're Here Somewhere", a pleasant folky-pop ballad which doesn't sound derivative of anything at all, and has beautful, piercing lyrics like "are you having fun in your new town with your new friends who took you away from me?". So, I like this disc. If you really don't like the idea of another band making songs that sound so similar to Radiohead, you probably won't want to get it. I know that Ariel had a violently negative reaction to them, but still there really are some pretty songs on here, and it would be a shame to miss out on them for any reason if they could make you happy. Total score: 519 out of 572 |