Rating: * * * *
Verdict: Shining debut from Auckland band of “brothers”.
We got the tests back and we know they’re not really related. But as far as “Calico goes, well this Auckland outfit sure doesn’t lack for material (er, boom boom) – this album of sparkling pop-rockers comes after last year’s likeable God Left Town EP.
And while that fraternal moniker might suggest something collective and rustic, some of the best moments here are the loneliest, when frontman-guitarist and producer Andrew Thorne is left to his own spartan devices – as on the artfully reverbed Stay or Lost on the Motorway.
On most of this, Thorne’s sweetly Lennon/Harrisonesque voice and guitar leads his band through a mix of country-rock janglers (the title track), harmony-heavy 60s-echoing baroque folk-rock (Up For Air, Tread Carefully), with the occasional heavier urge (Always Said I’d Do).
Sometimes this skirts familiar territory – Weight Around My Heart feels like Paul Kelly finding a good use for R.E.M.’s old mandolin. But it’s an album that’s much more than the sum of its influences.These pretend-siblings sure aren’t faking it when it comes to high-finesse guitar-pop songcraft.
Russell Baillie
http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/music-reviews/2009/6/20/calico-brothers-tell-it-sun/?c_id=1501982