Even before I read the accompanying blurb where James Abercrombie explains that “It’s A Laugh” is “… a love letter to The Primitives and The Darling Buds,” I fell in love with this joyous, jangling (a word you might hear a lot in this article), jolly, jovial slice of indie-pop. Of course, no music exists in isolation, and just as this is a tribute to those ’90s “blonde pop” stalwarts, they in turn created their sound from Byrdsian 12-string majesty and ’50s doo-wop girl groups, The Beatles, Blondie and the C86 scene. It’s just different branches of the musical tree; everything has the same roots.
Riffs loop and twist in a kaleidoscopic haze, beats skip with playful precision, and guitars weave together a shimmering jangle (told you) and lush cascades. Over it all, airy pop vocals deftly dance. It’s the sound of pop stripped to its most essential truth—bright, immediate, and utterly unpretentious—music that blooms and soars, not just because it can, but because it can’t help but do anything else.
And here’s the twist: although sonically effervescent, upbeat, and euphoric, it’s only when you bend your ear beyond the obvious first impression that you will hear that the lyrics are melancholic and reflective; musical juxtaposition at its finest – genuine “smiling at grief,” “tears of a clown” stuff.
Sometimes music reminds us of what has gone before via happy creative accidents. But this is so brilliant because Silk Daisys set out to capture a sound and nailed it. It’s the difference between sinking the black ball by accident and doing so after nominating the most difficult pocket available to you.
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