Spritely Indie Pop Fun
Nowadays when you think of indie bands, the incessant supply of loudmouthed boybands with guitars, jeans and tight-fitting tshirts may spring to mind, but Pocketbooks spring from the era when indie was more about lilting melodies and fizzy pop fun. Pocketbooks play a brand of perky indie pop that subtly blends a variety of instruments into their bright, upbeat melodies.
There’s a good mix of male and female lead vocals with each voice giving an insight into the tune’s underlying message, for example ‘Camera Angles’ discusses life as film with a jaunty, fresh air and shiny brass licks. The female-led vocals often sound a little retro, take ‘I’m Not Going Out’ for example; the tune is sweet and has some pretty kitsch overtones, including sighing Spector-esque vocal harmonies.
Pocketbooks indulge in the kind of twee vignettes that groups like The Indelicates perform so well. ‘Cross The Line’ chatters about Oyster cards and painting as the two vocalists indulge in some witty banter over a sparkling piano backing. This kind of sugary pop can get a little tiring after a while, so it’s lucky that there’s a reasonable mix of styles on ‘Flight Paths’, with a touch of jazz piano on ‘Skating On Thin Ice’. Brass, pianos and squealing guitars melt into the mix adding their style to each tune.
The only issue with this kind of personal storytelling is that it has a tendency to date and doesn’t work unless you care about whether the band put their books back on the shelves or whether they’re going out tonight or not. The tunes are fun and sweet but towards the end of the album their similarity does get a little dull towards the end of the album, leaving a bit of a sickly taste in your mouth. With a few tweaks and a little more change in dynamic in each tune, Pocketbooks could really be onto something, but ‘Flight Paths’ is one for real indie pop lovers who want to indulge in 11 tracks of spritely indie pop.