blackleatherbookshelf | Mar. 21st, 2012

Hello, Killer
3 Out Of 5 Stars

The Pernice Brothers take a sharp left turn into power pop on "Goodbye Killer," which will likely surprise that crowd of fans expecting the dour lyrical themes or the country-fied rock of their previous efforts. "Goodbye Killer" rivals the likes of Matthew Sweet's or Teenage Fanclub's best zinger-pop tunes. Especially the first two songs, "Bechamel" and "Jacqueline Susann," recalling both glam rock and Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend" before the alt-country goof of "We Love The Stage" enters in. "We even love the smart-a--'d kids who yell for 'Freebird'" Joe Pernice croons.

The punch of the songs and the often lyrically directness of the slower songs makes "Goodbye Killer" solid. In fact, the sense of directness holds the disc to a mere 32 minutes, making every song count. Pernice is like a master-craftsman, lifting Beatlesque guitars (the lovely solo on "The Loving Kind"), Dylan worthy lyrical lifts ("Something For You") and achingly heartfelt balladry, like the closing beauty "The End of Faith." The only thing holding The Pernice Brothers back is that they don't transcend the workmanship of the recordings. As an example, Fountains of Wayne deal with this kind of self-conscious power-pop and make it sound easy, "Goodbye Killer" is pretty good but sounds overly labored. Download the mentioned songs and you'll get the highlights.