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REVIEWS
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SPLENDID, December
10, 2004
A band of Dans -- Dan Susnara and Dan Sweigert sharing vocals, guitar
and keyboard duties, Dan VanSchindel adding drums to the final cut
-- navigates a loopy, melodic indie-pop territory. The title track
begins with Smiths-like vocals and fuzz-laden guitars, then veers
Bali-ward with an unexpected blast of Indonesian percussion. A touch
of gamelan enlivens the end of "The Ballad of Tony & Angel", too,
then slides into "Bemo"'s all-percussive groove. Closer "Alibis"
is the most conventional pop song here, with its '70s Peter Frampton
wah solo mid-cut. Still, even this one sidles up to the listener
rather than attacking face-on. You'll think the song isn't sticking,
even as its wordless "ba-ba-ba" vocals creep into a happy, foggy
brainspace. It's only later that you realize the song is about the
WTC attacks, at least tangentially. "Remember when the towers came
down / their anguished cries rang through the town / her cellphone
rings into the ground / oblivious, he lies in bed / she thinks he
went to work instead," the song observes, while remaining determinedly
lighthearted. Oddly, even knowing what the lyrics say hardly kills
the buzz. —Jennifer Kelly
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