AR: The La's

The La's - The La's (1990)

Quick review for a quick 35 minutes of a pop-bliss album: The La's sole entry into the world of popular music is a stupid-good gem of jangly twelve string simpleton rock. It's invocation of the British Invasion is overt, but it's so steeped inside an '80s alternative sensibility that it doesn't seem, ha ha, "out of time," so to speak. Actually, while one may be tempted to invoke the Kinks and R.E.M. in describing the sound of this disc, I'll go ahead and smack of sacrilege as I say the bright tones and happy times remind me sharply of The Monkees (!). Minus the sitcom buffoonery, natch, but this is a similar shimmery sunshine pop with pop, and it's a brilliant addition to any collection.

The album is anchored by a tune that dictates that yes, even if you're sitting there saying The-La's?-Never-heard-of-them, you have indeed heard them. "There She Goes" has littered numerous soundtracks, up to and including So I Married an Axe Murderer, with good reason - it's saccharine love ditty genius, the type of tune that seems it was carved out of the air rather than written. And while that tune does a fair job exemplifying the aesthetic employed here, what makes this a classic album is the variety they accomplish within that nouveau-Invasion approach. On repeated listens, some of the subtle tension and grit, the neat stylistic tricks, start to become apparent, and "There She Goes," in all its sleek perfection, sticks out as more glistening than the remainder of the album. Great trick - the smooth edges of pop are ever-so-slightly detailed by the teeth of the underground, and something that achieves a fantastic cohesion reveals itself to be varied and intense. Yes - intense jangle pop. I know.

Highlights abound: "Son of a Gun" is a fantastic, energetic but spare acoustic opener, "I Can't Sleep" is a bright stomper, "Timeless Melody" is a sad-sung soarer ... actually, I'm going to bail here before I just write a adjective-laden description of each and every track. Just listen - it's top-to-bottom excellent, and again, exquisitely varied so as to sustain a thousand spins. Fuzz rock? Eastern European taunt rock? It's all here, down to a Who-esque extended melodrama to close in "Looking Glass." This one justifiedly makes all kinds of lists - it's really a shame that, thanks reportedly to a songwriter with maniacal perfectionist tendencies, it's the only album the La's ever recorded. Highly rec'ed, even if the ultimately unfulfilled promise makes you sad.

Status: Recommended

Nyet's Fave: "There She Goes"