THE STILLS Oceans Will Rise (Arts & Crafts) Rating: NNN
The hooks and charm of their epic debut, Logic Will Break Your Heart, were decidedly missing from their 2006 sophomore effort, Without Feathers, but Oceans Will Rise marks a partial return to form for the Montreal quartet.
You won’t find the cavernous production, shimmering, reverb-laden guitars or Joshua Tree bass lines of Logic, but catchy-enough tracks like Dinosaurs and Snow In California are worth checking out if you’re a doubting old-school holdover. Lead single Being Here sports an anthemic, rock-radio-ready chorus but lacks lyrical depth (“There’s apples in the trees and diamonds in the earth”), while Eastern Europe and closer Statue Of Sirens are skipable filler.
The Stills play a free show at the Horseshoe Tuesday (August 19) at 10 pm.
