THE COURTNEYS
★★★
Album: “The Courtneys II”
Genre: Rock
Label: Flying Nun
Online: Watch The Courtneys coming and going on the “Silver Velvet” video at http://bit.ly/2gTzGJg.
★★★
Album: “The Courtneys II”
Genre: Rock
Label: Flying Nun
Online: Watch The Courtneys coming and going on the “Silver Velvet” video at http://bit.ly/2gTzGJg.
The esteemed New Zealand record label Flying Nun’s decision to release “The Courtneys II” speaks well of the Canadian female trio’s talents: it’s the first non-Kiwi act to record for the label. The Vancouverites sport a female drummer on lead vocals, Jen Twynn Payne, in addition to guitarist Courtney Garvin and bassist Sydney Koke, both of whom also sing. “The Courtneys II” advances the band’s sound considerably over its more coarse 2013 self-titled debut, though not all the rough edges have been sanded off.
“Silver Velvet” stands out immediately as the album’s catchiest track, capturing the best elements of that tuneful garage rock-influenced female pop sound that will be familiar to fans of La Sera, Dum Dum Girls and similar outfits.
Even at its poppiest, though, The Courtneys retain bite and drive, thanks to the way Garvin’s guitar churns on top of Koke and Payne’s throbbing rhythm section, each contributing energy to the other.
You can hear it bubbling under the surface in “Frankie,” an otherwise-conventional love song, and grinding away during “Country Song,” with its muscular final guitar coda.
The Courtneys don’t always find the right balance between pop instincts and alt-rock guitar heroics — the lengthy “Lost Boys” essentially repeats one fairly routine musical phrase for almost seven minutes — but when they do, as when a blissful chorus suddenly rises above the fray on “Tour,” the group becomes extraordinary. The Courtneys will play at The Resident in the downtown Los Angeles arts district on April 15.
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