Poor Old Lu
The Waiting Room
Tooth & Nail
Seattle band Poor Old Lu return after a five-year long break with what is surely their most realized album to date. In essence, this is college rock played with emo’s ferocity – like Jimmy Eat World, really, only better. Poor Old Lu revel in great, incessant hooks, sweet and unassuming melodies, and do it with enough style and passion that there’s little use fighting back.
And while they surely don’t tread any new paths on here, it’s still done with an overabundance of ideas and a genuine love for the music, ensuring that it never sounds either derivative or too clever for it’s own good. “Crushed” sounds like a sure-fire college radio hit, “Now” is classic pop with a hook to kill for, and elsewhere they bring to mind both Matt Johnson and latter-day Tears For Fears. You’ll definitely need a heart for 1980s pop rock to enjoy this thoroughly, but if that’s what you’re after, Poor Old Lu is just what you’ve been waiting for.
Tooth & Nail Records: http://www.toothandnail.com
