The Minders
Hooray For Tuesday
Elephant 6/spinART
From long experience, I’ve come to identify the danger signs in an album. The first time I play it, it will sound like something I might possibly like, if only it weren’t so mediocre. The second play highlights two or three songs that stand out from the rest of the record. By the third play, I’m hooked, cursed with a future of repeated playings, listening to it again and again instead of reviewing it and moving on.
The Minders play a kind of melodic pop that borrows heavily from the Beatles and their dense arrangements. Of course, there’s much more than that, but most importantly, each of the songs on here sounds like an individual composition, rather than a variation along the band’s talents. Those first standouts? “I’ve Been Wondering,” a summery number that features some very Apples In Stereo touches (AIS’s Robert Scheider produces, and it is his label), and “Pass It Around,” a stately march with a Robyn Hitchcock chorus. On “Our Man In Bombay,” the band sounds suspiciously like the High Llamas, sans boops and twiddles. With these three, and nine more, I can’t help but recommend the Minders and their insiduous musical talents. spinART, 580 Broadway, Suite 1105, New York, NY 10012
