Search - Saving Graces :: These Stars Are For You

Over five songs, The Saving Graces effortlessly blend 60s-vintage Britpop ("The Things that Make You Strange"), bouncy New Wave-style rock ("Idiot Proof") and gorgeous balladry ("Sad Golden Waves Goodbye."). "Girl Automatic" has enough hooks to snare a creel of fish, with Who-ish power chords played against a voice plangent in both of the word's meanings: loud, resounding and suggestive of sadness. "Idiot Proof" displays a fine folkish melody, sing-along chorus, pristine acoustic guitar accompaniment. "The Things That Make You Strange" uses an insistent guitar riff, reminiscent of the Fab Four's "Day Tripper," that complements vocalist Michael Slawter's urgent delivery on the things in life that do, indeed, make one strange. "Sad Golden Goodbye" manages that greatest of pop-rock tricks: a sad sound that does not sound smarmy, sappy, or contrived. The sincerity of the lyric is supported by an appropriately melancholy melody, but with enough pop savvy to make it go down like ice tea on a hot summer day.