Rating: NNNN
All the haters are already lining up to hate on the MSR just cuz they’re young and nerdy and excited and have early buzz and a deal with Arts & Crafts. How can you hate on a band that bubbles over with such unbridled effervescence? The remastered Underwater Cinematographer is a gleeful bonanza of shimmering synth builds, quirky choruses, bursts of syncopated beats and falsettoish vocals that sound like you snuck in on a conversation Adrian Jewett was having with himself in the mirror. The twistily titled Where Cedar Nouns And Adverbs Walk even has a lusty chorus of rowdy kids cheering, “I think we all know the words!” Maybe the singing’s a bit strained sometimes and the sporadic mid-song genre changes can grow tiring. I can forgive that. Like Broken Social Scene sans cynical drama, like the Postal Service sans angst, it’s still fun, effusive pop that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
The Most Serene Republic take over Olympic Island Sunday (June 26).