The Brunettes preview

The Brunettes
Schubas, Chicago
Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Hobbits aren’t the only thing to come out of New Zealand since the start of the new millennium. Enter The Brunettes. This perky, mousy-colored-hair duo made a ruckus on the other side of the globe with two full-length releases, Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks and Mars Loves Venus, that caught the attention of The Shins. Since securing opening slots for the likes of those Garden State soundtrack kings, Rilo Kiley, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Heather Mansfield (vocals, keyboards) and Jonathan Bree (vocals, guitars, drums) signed with Seattle-based, reputation-heavy Sub Pop.

On their first Stateside release, Structure And Cosmetics, The Brunettes retain their trademark tinkling, sticky sweet pop. On album opener “Brunettes Against Bubblegum Youth” the duo somehow harness in the exuberance of The Polyphonic Spree and mimic the collective’s strength-in-numbers sound, while “Stereo (Mono Mono)” gives off a static otherworldliness.

The Brunettes are more style than substance. Let’s just say they have a sweet spirit. They sound pretty and effervescent with a glockenspiel flourish here and a splash of clarinet there, but sometimes the light’s on, but nobody’s home. “Her Hairagami Set” lushly utilizes Mansfield’s coy vocals, but a closer listen finds her alluring phrasing merely reciting a litany of hairstyles. Regardless of how cheeky and post-modern a band strive to be, that’s taking their moniker a bit too far.

— Janine Schaults

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly