It’s a classic guitar pop LP; wonderfully summery and possessing enough hooks and melodies to cheer anyone up. Quite why the band chose to adorn it with a cover that resembles my late grandmother’s sewing bag is beyond me.
It’s a classic guitar pop LP; wonderfully summery and possessing enough hooks and melodies to cheer anyone up. Quite why the band chose to adorn it with a cover that resembles my late grandmother’s sewing bag is beyond me.
Miracle Fortress – Five Roses
http://www.roughtraderecords.com/ http://www.miraclefortress.com/ http://www.konkurrent.nl/
The cover, a pretty insipid (well to my eyes) floral pattern, in no way prepares you for the bitter-sweet, 60s-informed guitar strumming that Miracle Fortress seem to specialise in. Whirrs is a great jangly instrumental whereas Have You Seen in Your Dreams is a wistful tour de force, all major chords and harmonies. You even get the odd handclap… Next Train is a classic 60s pop wig out, descend vocal descends, plinky-plonky keyboards and fuzz guitar all add to the song’s considerable charm.
It’s a classic guitar pop LP; wonderfully summery and possessing enough hooks and melodies to cheer anyone up. Quite why the band chose to adorn it with a cover that resembles my late grandmother’s sewing bag is beyond me. The debt to the Beach Boys is noticeable (the drums at the end of Hold Your Secrets in Your Heart are very similar to God Only Knows, but hey… so what?). My only gripe is that it becomes a leetle one-paced and over-sentimental towards the end, but that’s a minor quibble.
If you like 60s teen-angst pop, you’ll be very pleasantly surprised.
Words: Richard Foster