Thursday, May 17, 2012


















Allo Darlin'
Europe

Allo Darlin' , the Aussie female fronted indie/twee sweetheart rock group currently residing in London secure another full length and call it Europe. I wasn't impressed by the first track, "Neil Armstrong" until my second listen when I read along with the liner notes and was then finally able uncross my arms and actually relax.  The second track "Capricornia" is a stand out track with an ensnaring quality that should have been the lead track to avoid any confusion about what was to (mostly) come of the album; the song reminded me of a b-side off of the Sundays's Reading, Writing And Arithmetic. The title track "Europe" made me think of the group Phoenix… it's poppy, catchy, worthy, and growing on me with each listen (car commercial material?). It was during "Some People Say" that I realized how amazing singer Elizabeth Morris's random vocal melodies actually are. "Northern Lights" came at me like a whirlwind of tolerable female emotion and ended side one with a pleasurable bang.  Side two begins with "Wonderland" and it's not the strongest lead in again and is followed by "Tallulah", the skippable vocal and ukulele track that seems to meander with mostly anticlimactic moments. "The Letter" may be the best track on the album. This side two track three is good enough to want to plow through the rest of the record and leave the sour moments behind. It's followed up by "Still Young", another great track with guts and the enthusiasm most of Allo Darlin's songs need, and the album closes with another boring slow burner that could have been better buried within the album or omitted. My conclusive thoughts on Europe?  I wish this record was a five song EP instead, but I can live with it. 


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