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BANDS: Punk
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My Favorite:
The Happiest Days of Our Lives (sampler)
So here we have a band called My Favorite that has just released a 30-track album this past August called The Happiest Days of Our Lives. This compiles a bunch of their work from various E.P.s as well as fourteen tracks of remixes by a slew of artists including big names such as Soviet and The Future Bible Heroes. What I have with me for review, however, is a five-track sampler of original tracks. Im sure these tracks were handpicked for a reason, but wow, theres some impressive stuff on here! Most reviewers namedrop New Order and the Smiths when they hear My Favorite, and those are some pretty big shoes to fill, so I always approach bands with caution when I hear a comparison like that. Some bands like Anything Box have a few tracks that can stand up to the plate, but a band that can do this on a consistent basis is quite rare. Somehow, My Favorite manages to pull it off though (at least on the sampler) in their own unique style. The production is very professional, and theres a good combination of male and female vocals here, but the lyrics are twisted with a cool mix of innocence and experience that seems perfectly fit for a band of our generation. Theres a little bit of nostalgia in the portraits of troubled youth that spring to life throughout this sampler, and thats really what makes this band so deserving of attention. My favorite example of this is the song Homeless Club Kids. The song kicks up a nice New Order-like synth progression, and Andrea sings When the dance-floors full, all the kids look so beautiful, when the dance floors full, all the kids look indivisiblethe ghosts of dead teenagers sing to me while I am dancing. Now call me a bit sappy, but thats a pretty powerful image, especially when one imagines the inherent irony that the beautiful club kids are probably dancing to the usual doom-ridden anthems like How Soon is Now? and Blue Monday. Theres a 180-degree twist of perspective for you. After all, isnt that what Morrissey was so good at illustrating the inherent beauty amidst the endless expanses of misery? Im not sure if My Favorite was thinking about that per se, but the material here is ripe for over-analyzation, and thats a hard thing to find nowadays. Just try to do it with the Interpol album, and youll quickly see what I mean. In short, My Favorite live up to their name, and Ill be looking out for the full length version of The Happiest Days of My Life the next time Im out shopping for my missing Morrissey singles.
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