Okay people, it’s time to pay attention. One of my favorite albums of 2008 so far (if not my one favorite) is Get Better; the debut full-length from the Buffalo, New York pop-punk trio Lemuria. Get Better is catchy-as-hell but atypical in that instead of blasting through them at a million miles an hour, Lemuria pulls back on the throttle and lets their songs breathe. It is a tactic that the multitude of sound-alike pop-punk bands could certainly learn something from.
Get Better is takes the best parts of rough-edged pop-punk and washes them with little bit of indie rock into something catchy, earnest, believable. Sappy, a bit off-kilter, and unrefined rough around the edges, this shouldn’t work but it does. Get Better is unpolished and better because of that.
The female/male dual vocals of Sheena Ozzella and Alexander Kerns are filled with tension and are the “it” factor that makes this album totally amazing. Kerns vocals are subdued and restrained while Ozzella’s are much brighter and way more in-your-face and together (especially when harmonizing) it is so f’ing good that I’m struggling for words to describe this.
Why is it so much harder to write about record that I love than ones I dislike? I feel like my only argument needs to be, “This is awesome,” and then be done. I know the high brow snooty music world looks down on reviews like this, but even after about a zillion listens, Get Better continues to do just that; it gets better with every listen. Even my wife now digs this record. Get it now yourself from Asian Man Records. I’ve been listening to albums on Mike Park’s label for damn near 12 years now and he shows no signs of slowing.
MP3 | Lemuria – Pants Get Better
MP3 | Lemuria – Yesterday’s Lunch Get Better
i need to check this out…I have their split 7” with Frame. i only peeped the lemuria side a few times but i liked what i heard.
Can’t wait to pick this up at their show with Bomb the Music Industry, they’re so awesome.
Yeah. I totally missed Lemuira, BTMI, and The Queers last weekend. I realized the following day when I was at the same venue. Bummer.
Not really feeling it personally. Reminds me a lot of Discount.
I’ve got to agree with you that this is one of the better albums of the year so far. It’s pop-punk that is neither too poppy or too punky.
But Lee, is sounding like Discount really such a bad thing?
While it is too early to speculate on my top ten for this year, Lemuria will definitely be a strong contender. I find it no coincidence that Sheena’s vocals are reminiscent of Juliana Hatfield, whilst Alexander would be an excellent substitute for Evan Dando. The compilation album of all their previous releases is equally as good.