Blake Solomon
06/08/09, 10:01 AM
Suckers – Suckers EP
Record Label: IAMSOUND Records
Release Date: May 19, 2009
After each musical edge-cliff-jump? moment, you know, when every new song is more depressingly terrible than the last, there is usually a band waiting to instigate life-affirming revelry in me yet again. I have named this happy phenomenon “The Napster Effect.” (Ed. Note: Pretty sure that’s plagiarism.) Although there are times of hopelessness, I have never resigned myself to the point of eternal hibernation. Perhaps it’s actually the smell of my mother’s Snickerdoodles keeping me going. Or maybe I’m just too vain to let a body this chiseled waste away.
Point is, Suckers are a shot of life. Quinn Walker and The Boys belt out songs steeped in both times gone by and times to come. This can be heard throughout the self-titled EP, but perhaps most effectively in the opening notes of “Beach Queen.” A Beach Boys-ish organ rouses up feelings of carefree nostalgia while stuttering, electronic drumbeats transport us back to the grimy bustle of Subway Livin’. Moments of this shouty goodness become surrounded by smooth basslines and hip concoctions of sexy tribal jaunts. Is it not yet clear that pop music can be so much more?
Walker’s quite the star. His lackadaisical style exudes cool, and yet it seems so blueprinted that I can’t help but applaud the man for succeeding. There’s a lot to digest on standout “Afterthoughts & TV”, but it’s Walker’s catchy hook of, “We’ll find a simple way to talk / We’ll find a way to turn it up” that steals the show. Yes their dabbles in reggae are interesting, and yes the trumpet freakout is hair-raising, but it’s Walker’s overpowering ability to command dancefloor bliss that makes Suckers poised for indie mainstream stardom.
It seems appropriate that the Suckers’ biggest hit is called “It Gets Your Body Movin.’” Sweaty club anthem this is not, but what it actually manifests itself as - a slow moving, harmony-filled synth number - is so much better. All at once you feel strengthened and a bit sad, like it was written for someone incapable of the song’s simple promise. So all you do is sway with abandon and hope that the person who needs to hear this does. (Like me, I needed to hear this!) Suckers ends much too swiftly, although not before the point where I must seriously consider it one of the best albums of 2009. Four songs and I’m happy. If length or depth makes the band ineligible for such high praise, let my current mood be their award: joyous!
Recommended If You Like: Vampire Weekend, Beach Boys, filled-in graves, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, fire dept. trampolines
www.myspace.com/suckerstheband
Record Label: IAMSOUND Records
Release Date: May 19, 2009
After each musical edge-cliff-jump? moment, you know, when every new song is more depressingly terrible than the last, there is usually a band waiting to instigate life-affirming revelry in me yet again. I have named this happy phenomenon “The Napster Effect.” (Ed. Note: Pretty sure that’s plagiarism.) Although there are times of hopelessness, I have never resigned myself to the point of eternal hibernation. Perhaps it’s actually the smell of my mother’s Snickerdoodles keeping me going. Or maybe I’m just too vain to let a body this chiseled waste away.
Point is, Suckers are a shot of life. Quinn Walker and The Boys belt out songs steeped in both times gone by and times to come. This can be heard throughout the self-titled EP, but perhaps most effectively in the opening notes of “Beach Queen.” A Beach Boys-ish organ rouses up feelings of carefree nostalgia while stuttering, electronic drumbeats transport us back to the grimy bustle of Subway Livin’. Moments of this shouty goodness become surrounded by smooth basslines and hip concoctions of sexy tribal jaunts. Is it not yet clear that pop music can be so much more?
Walker’s quite the star. His lackadaisical style exudes cool, and yet it seems so blueprinted that I can’t help but applaud the man for succeeding. There’s a lot to digest on standout “Afterthoughts & TV”, but it’s Walker’s catchy hook of, “We’ll find a simple way to talk / We’ll find a way to turn it up” that steals the show. Yes their dabbles in reggae are interesting, and yes the trumpet freakout is hair-raising, but it’s Walker’s overpowering ability to command dancefloor bliss that makes Suckers poised for indie mainstream stardom.
It seems appropriate that the Suckers’ biggest hit is called “It Gets Your Body Movin.’” Sweaty club anthem this is not, but what it actually manifests itself as - a slow moving, harmony-filled synth number - is so much better. All at once you feel strengthened and a bit sad, like it was written for someone incapable of the song’s simple promise. So all you do is sway with abandon and hope that the person who needs to hear this does. (Like me, I needed to hear this!) Suckers ends much too swiftly, although not before the point where I must seriously consider it one of the best albums of 2009. Four songs and I’m happy. If length or depth makes the band ineligible for such high praise, let my current mood be their award: joyous!
Recommended If You Like: Vampire Weekend, Beach Boys, filled-in graves, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, fire dept. trampolines
www.myspace.com/suckerstheband