Music Platters: The Bads – So Alive (Mana/Warners)

The Bads – So Alive (Mana/Warners)

Author: stereonerd [16-05-2009 10:01]

The Bads – on the off-chance that you don’t know already – are the duo of Dianne Swann and Brett Adams. Kiwis remember Swann for her starring role in When The Cat’s Away, while Adams is a former member of The Mockers. The twosome have been playing together since the ’90s, and were the core of The Julie Dolphin, a UK-based “shoegazing” group.

Their first album came out in 2005, and the only thing I remember about it is the unintentional sub-bass (outside the hearing range) that made it a hazard to play on my stereo. I risked bass driver overload, so I gave it only the merest whisk at low volume. It didn’t touch the sides.

So Alive, their second album, is pleasant country oriented pop with shimmering layers of guitar and Swann’s slightly lemon-curdled baby-girl voice emoting lyrics that actually have some content, which is nice.

Occasionally they break out into a kind of power pop (‘Irritainment’), but mostly it’s fairly low-key.

So Alive is a quality release, but in the glut of music now clogging our musical arteries, that’s not enough to make it stand out. There may be a niche for The Bads, and I wish them all the best in finding it, but to this listener, it sounds all a little bit too refried. GS

3 Stars