The Courtneys: The Courtneys (Conquest of Noise/Flying In)

 |   |  <1 min read

The Courtneys: Manion
The Courtneys: The Courtneys (Conquest of Noise/Flying In)

Dunno about you, but sometimes when you've heard enough polished pop you just want a bit of fun-infused, lo-fi, unschooled but thoroughly enjoyable pop-rock where fast strummed, chiming guitars and simple drumming are about as sophisticated as it gets.

Enter then this trio from Vancouver -- Courtney Loove (sic), Sydney Koke, Jen Tynne Payne -- who might just have quite a number of Clean and early Chills albums at home.

They possess exactly the right whiny-gal tone (Insufficient Funds), social anxiety (on the song of the same name), fan-chick irony (the lyrically economic KC Reeves about how Keanu was okay in the Nineties but we all grow out of fandom) and nods to late summer days (90210).

The songs may be tight and short -- nothing more than three and a half minutes, most around three -- but they pack a solid wee punch and cram in a lot of crisply focused musical information in the way of riffs, hooks (yes, think the Chills and especially the Clean) and even a few wiry, tight guitar solos.

I know nothing about the Courtneys other than this album, and we might never heard of them again (though I hope we do).

But for now this album -- available on 45rpm vinyl from Flying Out here -- is keeping me smiling.

A lot.

Like the sound of this? Then check out this.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

IN BRIEF: A quick overview of some recent international releases

IN BRIEF: A quick overview of some recent international releases

With so many CDs commanding and demanding attention Elsewhere will run this occasional column which scoops up releases by international artists, in much the same way as our SHORT CUTS column... > Read more

Procol Harum: The Best of, Then and Now (Salvo)

Procol Harum: The Best of, Then and Now (Salvo)

It is hard to believe -- and somewhat sad -- that the authorship of Whiter Shade of Pale, this group's defining moment (and which also captured the dreamy, surreal English Summer of Love in '67),... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

GUEST WRITER MADELINE BOCARO sees Yoko Ono go jazz in New York City

GUEST WRITER MADELINE BOCARO sees Yoko Ono go jazz in New York City

It is truly The Summer of Yoko in New York City. Yoko Ono One Woman Show at The Museum of Modern Art is in full bloom and she presented two delightful evenings of films and lectures in July,... > Read more

The Mississippi Sheiks: Bed Spring Poker (1931)

The Mississippi Sheiks: Bed Spring Poker (1931)

The blues is often blunt and to the point when it comes to sexual imagery, at other times it is coded -- although no one should be in any doubt that when Lonnie Johnson says he is the best jockey... > Read more