Quality New England singer/songsmith Joe Pernice has already established quite a track record; leaving behind a small, but vital legacy with his pioneering Alt.Country outfit The Scud Mountain Boys and then injecting the vibrant Americana scene with some gloriously mellifluous power-pop harmonies a la Big Star/ Teenage Fanclub throughout the two previous PERNICE BROTHERS
albums.
For the third PB album, he's copped a title relating to a Doris Day movie, rounded up his usual suspects Thom Monahan, Peyton Pinkerton, Mike Belitsky, Laura Stein and bro' Bob Pernice, decamped to the Vermont summer house of a benevolent cancer surgeon and set about creating another quiet masterpiece in a setting akin to a modern day Big Pink.
The clubhouse atmosphere has obviously had a positive effect, too, as "Yours, Mine And Ours" proffers a live, urgent sound, with less of the strings and lushness that epitomised both the "The World Won't End" and their "Overcome By Happiness" debut.
That's not to say they've sacrificed any of the songwriting nous, though. Indeed, Joe Pernice seems to simply bleed great songs and once again "Yours, Mine And Ours" features a rich, above-average quota. If we're dealing in recent comparisons, then something like "7.30" from "The World Won't End" is about the closest to the punchy, harmony pop on offer here. Indeed, there are several tunes here that have a similarly immediate cut'n'thrust ( "One Foot In The Grave" and the brilliant opener "Weakest Shade Of Blue" where Joe sings "I'm as lonely as the Irish Sea" with real wistfulness are prime examples), while "Water Ban", with its' dark brown vibrato guitars represents that superb chromatic approach the Pernice Brothers do so well.
Meanwhile, the way the Pernice Brothers lean into their lovely creations continues to impress. Though the songs are largely devoid of the strings this time, the band's team playing ensures these tracks remain emotional and full of depth. Lonely, curling pedal steel glides around the dark drama of "Baby In Two", which steals the "hey kid, rock,n'roll" line from REM'S "Drive" to genius effect; "Blinded By The Stars" is good enough to be a Chris Bell song and has a deliciously spacy, epic coda at the end, while the chiming guitars of the stately "Judy" again echo the PB's peculiarly Anglophile angle by reminding you (of all people) of The Chameleons at their most plangent and soothing.
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Typically, they keep the best in reserve for the tail end, though by the time they sign off with the experience-fuelled "How To Live Alone" ("Keep a foot out of the blacker end/ Keep away the crush of years" sings Joe before letting loose the delicious "I'm holding on" chorus) and the startling "Number Two" - which opens with the amazing line "Little power monger, sleep tonight" and could well be a commentary on life post 9/11 - they've long since convinced you that this is their third damn-near stone cold classic album. Without ever really trying too hard, either.
Stripped-down rather than truly groundbreaking, these ten songs nonetheless take you closer to the heart of true songwriting genius that is Joe Pernice. "Yours, Mine and Ours" is bittersweet, generous, thought-provoking and every bit as inclusive as the title suggests. Every home really should have one.
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