It could be argued that Flashbacks is an appropriate title for the third album by THE LODGER. After all, the Leeds trio boldly recalls the early 80s era of jangly, bittersweet, U.K.-based guitar pop, a la AZTEC CAMERA, ORANGE JUICE and the like. It would be pointless to upbraid the band for its genuflection to a particular time period, however, for a couple of reasons. The first is that there are precious few bands working this side of the pop tracks. The second is that the Lodger is simply damned good at what it does. The threesome plays it clean and sweet, with little frippery other than some well-placed horn charts – the hooks and melodies sit right up front. As a writer, leader BEN SIDDALL is a wonder, expertly balancing the essentially upbeat nature of the tunes with deadly arrows like “This could be the perfect chance for tonight/To pack it in and leave you out of sight” (“The Back of My Mind”) or “We need time to wait/to reminisce and recreate/Our old mistakes before we have to grow” (“Time to Wait”). It takes an expert tunesmith to make singalong ditties out of sentiments like those. Flashbacks is perfect for those that like their pleasures to go down smooth but leave an acidic aftertaste.
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http://www.slumberlandrecords.com
