Manishevitz
' third album,
City Life
, is a shocking departure from the group's first two. Gone are the low-key, melancholy chamber
folk-pop
songs; they are replaced by shiny
pop
songs that draw inspiration from arty
glam
bands like
Roxy Music
as well as early
Eno
and a large dose of
the Fall
. Their 2002 EP,
Private Lines
, gave a clue to the shift with its
cover and generally shiny and upbeat feel. What that EP began is fully realized on
.
Adam Busch
's voice has blossomed from a quiet mumble to a swaggering croon that is equal parts smooth
Bryan Ferry
and stuttering
Mark E. Smith
. The rest of the group has helped the transformation by giving the songs a loose strutting feel. New member
Nate Lepine
is the most obvious difference; his sax and flute lines give bright splashes of color to the songs. Once you get over the shock of the way the band sounds, you realize that the songs have remained as strong as before. In fact, the new approach musically meshes with a hookier, more effusive brand of songwriting. Tracks like
"City Life,"
"Mary Ann,"
and the gorgeously lilting
"Back in the Day"
(which appeared on
) burst out of the speakers and may even inspire listeners to dance spastically around the room. There is still a strong trace of the old brooding
on
;
"Hate Ilene"
is a dirge-y, atmospheric track;
"Undercover"
is a meandering, beautiful song that makes full use of
Lepine
's flute skills and sounds like an unholy meeting of
the Beach Boys
and
. Actually, that sounds like a very holy meeting. If only it had happened in 1972. Still, this track gives you an idea of what might have transpired. One could see this new
post-punk
-inspired direction as a cynical shift toward a style of music that made commercial headway in 2003. More likely the members of the band heard some
Fall
or
records and were inspired to make a change. Hopefully, fans of the band will be swayed by the stellar songwriting and the wild energy of the music, because
is a very good record. If it had come out in 1972, kids everywhere would be lining up to claim
as an influence. ~ Tim Sendra