Manchester Orchestra reviewed
Manchester Orchestra
I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child
(Favorite Gentlemen)
Atlanta-born savant drops out to record, gets exalted indie rock plaudits, wears heart on sleeve — and isn’t Conor Oberst.
Appearing: June 23rd at Metro in Chicago.
For all the alleged Woody Allen references (“Sleeper 1972,” “Alice And Interiors”) and comparisons to Death Cab For Cutie and The Weakerthans, frontman Andy Hull is a fairly obvious and nonchalant songwriter. Aside from Manchester Orchestra’s emoesque song titles (“The Neighborhood Is Bleeding,” “I Can Feel Your Pain,” “I Can Barely Breathe”), his band eschew subtlety and ape bands who are typically subtle, and also exhibit a predilection for power pop. Like fellow Atlantans The Talk, there’s a simple Cheap Trick spirit at the heart of I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child and it needs to be let out more. The album’s first two songs are its best and it’s no coincidence they’re also the most effortless. Both “Wolves At Night” and “Now That You’re Home” begin in angsty earnest, but the emoting — that grips the album’s final three-quarters — fails to stake much claim, and the band simply roll. A stomping beat and a hint of disregard for the time signature is all it takes sometimes — maybe Hull, a home schooler, should have given himself recess more often.
— Steve Forstneger
