THE ELWINS play Sunday (March 25) at Rancho Relaxo as part of CMW. See listing. Rating: NNN
The Elwins took their time crafting their debut LP, first paring down the collection from nearly 40 songs and then taking it to Seattle to professionally record. The Keswick, Ontario, band’s affable, breezy sunshine-pop is far from showy, but precision and care are evident in their sticky hooks and timeless melodies drawn from that endless well of old Beach Boys, Carpenters and Elephant 6 records.
The more effortless this type of classic sha-la-la songwriting sounds, the more effective it is, and the Elwins have a knack for writing polished, hummable tunes. Hidden depth reveals itself in the wistful lyrics and subtle textural touches of strings and lap steel between the jaunty bass lines and chord progressions. It won’t change your life, but And I Thank You is hard not to like. An impressive debut.
Top track: Stuck In The Middle
