Album from Candian trio.
Originally a duo, Talladega hail from Canada and are influenced by much that is English and 80's thanks to the likes of New Order and The Cure. Joined by a third member for their album, 'Up From Beneath', Talladega exhibit a full, although admittedly rather generic sound. The influence of The Cure can be heard on the lengthy intro to 'Summer Jacket', which musically mirrors The Cure's 'Pictures of You'. Elsewhere the mighty influences are nowhere to be seen, and the album is largely on consisting of average indie-rock songs with no remarkable characteristics.
The simplistic lyrical choices seem nothing short of lazy, in particular on massively repetitive 'Oh Lord, I Know', with its grating chorus consisting only of "I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know". Things improve slightly with 'This is How it Feels', which benefits from the use of a xylophone, giving the song a much softer and more twinkling appeal. The vocals here are much more restrained and easier to tolerate due to being less overwrought.
'Where Did the Summer Go? / You, Me and the Sea' sees the pace quicken once more with a rather dated song of sing song clichés both in the musical arrangements as well as the lyrics. 'I Wasn't Really Listening' is tolerable and amounts to a reasonable mid-tempo tune, but doesn't progress to anything more. 'No Gray Skies' is another passable attempt but the simplicity of the lyrics seems massively uninspired.
Overall this album leaves a very weak impression and is unsatisfying to a listener expecting much more after reading the list of influences. If Talladega hope to someday be considered an influence then they need to work much harder than this.