A Smile and a Ribbon - The Boy I Wish I Never Met
0 Comments Published by Trev Lostmusic on Saturday, October 20, 2007 at 13:46.
I've had this beautiful package for a good few weeks now. I managed to lose it in the flat. But it's found now (thank heavens!) . Just as I was starting to get rotten teeth from the sweet and cutesy indiepop diet - I have to be won back over by A Smile and a Ribbon. I first came across the band at a Spiral Scratch gig. They were adorable as a live band. All awkwardness and clumsy glances. The band were also one of my highlights of this year's Indietracks festival. So it came as a surprise to hear this LP (albeit an LP with a difference). As the band are paired down to core members Rebecca Mehlman and Martin Lindqvist. As I mentioned as LPs go this one is fairly unique as it comes packaged as 7" single with a CD attached. The CD contains tracks 1 through 9 and the 7" has an additional 4 songs on it. Did I mention that it's beautiful thing to have and to hold? I did? Well the point needs re-enforcing - it's a great little package. It is released on Shelflife Records.And with it looking so good you'd have to hope that the actual sounds contained within are up to scratch. And they are, magnificently so. The sound that the band manage to make live is a lot more shambolic and fuller. But on the recordings, as a duo, A Smile and A Ribbon are an even more fragile proposition. Rebecca's near childlike vocals are sweet and brittle and encompass everything that I first loved when I first heard Amelia Fletcher all those years ago in Talulah Gosh. My live favourite 'Book Cover' is a lovely little song and sounds even more wonderful recorded. And to be fair I could say that about every song on the LP. 'Bobby Pin' sounds more electronic than the band have ever sounded on stage. It's still a wonderful sound and the band prove they have a breadth to their sound that takes in 80s indiepop, electropop, 50s doowop and 60s girl groups.
A Smile and a Ribbon - The Boy I Wish I Never Met
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