The Fresh & Onlys

The Fresh & Onlys further explore their love of jangle on a jaunt through West Coast psych, expanding on themes from Long Slow Dance, and using the short format to experiment with their style. Here they've utilized the studio to add sheen to the five tracks on Soothsayer, creeping them slightly further from the band's garage beginnings. Though, to be honest, F&O's have always bent down roads less traveled by many of their SF contemporaries, fusing a shaded emotional core to the upbeat jangles of The Go-Betweens and twisting New Wave-era moments of moodiness throughout their previous effort. Here they burrow further into both impulses, amping up the jangle on "God of Suez' and taking a few more of those New Wave hooks and bringing them to the forefront on standout track "Drugs" with its Cars-worthy guitar stabs. Personally I'd love to see the band wander further and further towards the latter style as "Fire Alarm" was a personal favorite from their last record and the look seems to suit them.

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