This album by the ever cool Jigsaw Records is apparently a career overview containing almost every song Restless Hearts recorded and yet in the pictures they still don't look that old.
Still, if, like me, they had managed to pass you by up till this point this album is a real good way to catch up to a band that should have been pretty big by now. From the opening bars of Heavy Heart it's clear we are in Power-pop jangle heaven and will not be going anywhere else for some time indeed. The song itself has urgency as they try to repair that broken relationship.
The first version of Seeing You is all frothy; pleading that he wants to be seeing you like he thinks Teenage Fanclub might come and steal his girlfriend or argue with Velvet Crush over whose guitars can chime enough to melt her heart. Just in time for some harmony backing vocals to make sure she's his, of course.
I'll Be Going Out With Your Baby is the sort of song title that could get you into trouble, let alone lyrics that make plain he's in baby or girlfriend stealing mode. But he does so with nice, nice vocals as he tells us she'll be loving him tonight. Cheating never sounded like such a cool or nice thing to do. Make Up Time is one of those songs that got away from Beserkley records or would be on that label if they were still putting stuff out. It's like they are trying to make a Sutherland Brothers record in the late 80's.
Comon Now (sic) is not only an example of poor spelling but it's also a pretty fine song about jealousy and duplicity that has a Velvet Crush meets the Drop Nineteens feel to it. Gold-digger, meanwhile, is about what you'd expect in a prime time Power-pop style as they try to put you off wasting your time with said Gold-digger.
We Will Not Be Lovers is another twist on love not quite going how it should do over chiming guitars and cool harmony vocals which are sweet and bitter in equal amounts. Polar Bear is a weird sort of song as the lyrics could almost be obtuse enough to be bad Steely Dan and...well I hate the Dan so that's not fair really as this song is far cooler than that faint praise suggests. It's just a skewed love gone well...where has it gone? Well, to Acapulco and there ain't no snow there, certainly not the icy kind and they don't sing about the other kind.
Why is just pleading for the love to reciprocate over urgent almost angry jangle power pop. Midnight Half Special is the sort of thing you say drunkenly to someone who you think might spend the night with you. It's one of the calmer songs on the album and yes, he wants to get some. Not sure if going all Lilac Time is the way to go about it though.
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Burning Heart is like a cleaned up Real Kids song; it has that chug and incessant beat with a cool guitar solo and well, nice lyrics and is over real quick. Recreation Shuffle is no Lido Shuffle but more a laid back power pop plea for more love from his paramour. Things I Said is sort of a jealous rant for a night when she goes out without him and how he loses the plot over it while sounding like Velvet Crush with the reverb turned down.
Look Into Your Heart is a live take and has an added urgency to it as if they really are pleading with some girl to let them in and let them have a good look in the girl's heart. I'd be shocked if the singer wasn't on his knees pleading while singing this.
Let's Talk About Love is also Live and is back to sounding like The Real Kids, except it's all cleaned up and mixed in with the Plimsouls or Greg Kihn which makes it sound like Restless Hearts are a pretty good live act.
Now is the final of three live tracks and has the most obvious and up front bass line on the album before the jangle pop sets in like normal over another plea for some love -like right now!! Need You Girl (So Fine) is the closest they come to going acoustic and it has some real nice harmonies as they once again plead for some love.
This Time Some Other Time is more gentle but still asking for some more good times. Walkaway is one of those should I stay or should I go songs at the end of a relationship that is a bit Bandwagonesque. The album closes with an alternate version of Seeing You. It's slightly calmer version but it still works as a pretty cool song to ask a girl out to.
This is an album for anyone who likes any of the bands referenced in this review. Save for Steely Dan.
Find out more at Jigsaw Records online
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