The Very Most - Just A Pup EP (Manic Pop Records)
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| The Very Most - Just A Pup |
Blogging, I find, Is a little bit
like beachcombing. You can scan the coastline for months and get nothing but
drift wood and broken condoms but then, the day after a big storm, you hit pay
dirt. At the moment, it seems a larger transporter of Twee American Indie Pop
has capsized off the coast of Cornwall and I'm going to have to start selling
some if it down the pub on a Friday if it keeps coming at this rate! The Very
Most are the latest beach find and, I'm pleased to say, one of the best so far.
Imagine Ben Folds singing over a Brian Wilson piano melody with synths and
layered up vocal harmonies and, well, that's essentially title track 'Just A
Pup' in all its saccharine sweet glory. The gloriously quirky 'Idaho, America
in 2049' is like Grandaddy after a heady night on cocktails, prescription drugs
and karaoke before taking a turn for the frantic and slightly panicked about
half way through. Sure, this is pop and this is sugary sweet stuff, but it also
has substance and stands up to a few repeat listens in a row which is surely
the sign of a song that was worth writing.
On 'We Don't Have Any Cuts To
Waste' The Very Most sound for all the world like they should have three
identically attired backing vocalists - the leader of which can only be
determined by her tambourine work. The irony, of course, is that the Very Most
is essentially the brain/love child of one man, Mr Jeremy Jensen (JJ to his
friends I imagine although I do not count myself among such people). For a band
of people to have this many ideas is truly beautiful, for one man to pull it
all together is, well, just super. The icing on the already overwhelmingly
sweet cake, is the coquettish and, let's face it, damn sexy cover of Tom Jones'
'It's Not Unusual' with guest vocals from the sultry Liz Hunt. Now I know Sir
Thomas of Jones-shire is a damn sexy pillar of a man but the reworking of this
old classic with shimmering percussion, reverb heavy guitars and the
aforementioned dusky vocals of Ms Hunt takes this to a new level of sexy. A
level I haven't even reached yet so I find myself entirely unqualified to
continue this review. Back to the beach I go for more treasures...
More information: http://theverymost.com/