Let's Say We Did - Hello Creatures

Album review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

It's been getting on for a year-and-a-half since the debut album from Stockholm's Let's Say We Did, and their first full-length offered a decent update of the kind of alternative rock/indie that bands like Pavement and Teenage Fanclub made popular twenty years ago (is it really that long?). For new record 'Hello Creatures' we're pleased to find that little of note has changed, and that's not to say the band have stagnated. So long as you can keep producing the goods song-wise then sharp changes in sound aren't needed. Just ask The Jesus & Mary Chain, Bo Diddley or even Pavement themselves. And so from the opening bars of the scuzzy 'Into Wherever' we're instantly given a reminder of what these guys do so well.

There's a slack, almost nonchalant laziness about 'Hey Kid' and it's a trick that's difficult to master without sounding completely half-arsed, but it's a trick Let's Say We Did know well and they use it again on the aptly-titled 'Sound Asleep'. For more instant, wider-appealing tracks then shout-outs go to the ace 'Goodbye!', 'I Was There Too' and previous single 'The Stars Above Looked So Bright And Green'. Perhaps a future single selection could be 'Seemingly Unfit', a song that expertly uses the distortion that's so popular with guitar bands at the moment. There's even a foray into poppier sounds with 'Boogey Den', the final track unless you pre-order, in which case a worthwhile bonus comes in the shape of 'If You Want Me To (I Will)'.

If they wanted to, this band could easily head into powerpop mode and belt out some indie hits, but that's not really their style. They suit this lo-fi, fuzz-filtered college-rock sound, or maybe the sound suits them. Whichever way round it is, so long as they can keep the level of songwriting high and the production tailored to fit this particular style then they'll continue to breathe life into these now aging sounds, making them seem current, vital and truly alternative once again. However long a genre has been around, if the band have the understanding and the talent then they'll always be on to a winner. It's safe to say that Let's Say We Did have all the necessary attributes.



Let's Say We Did's website

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