Rating: NNN
Perhaps the psyched-out rock residue of their Unintended side project has seeped into the Sadies’ consciousness, since their fifth full-length effort finds the Toronto country-rock kingpins boosting the trippy folk quotient of their customary spaghetti western vibe. Kicking off with a beautifully blistering instrumental tribute to Byrds guitarist Clarence White, Favourite Colours balances sunny jingle-jangle pop with po-faced cautionary country tales. The pot-hazed meandering of their Stories Often Told disc is kept in check, and guests like Robyn Hitchcock and both Good parents provide vocal counterpoint to the muttering harmonies of Travis and Dallas. There’s a nice circularity on the disc – Only You And Your Eyes cribs its title from a line in the lovely Hitchcock co-penned album-closer, and the Sadies split their apocalyptic allegory (it begins with 1000 Cities Falling) into a three-track narrative that ends with an air of hope.
