Where Our Failures Are a supergreat album brimming with infectious doses of folky and lo-fi jangle pop-punk. The New Dress is Bill Manning and Laura Fidler and that’s about it. Just their two voices, one guitar without other accompaniment, and all their charming imperfections. The female/male vocals are more just sung in unison that employing any sort of complex harmonies. It borders on too-cute but thankfully never crosses the line. Instead its raw, unpolished, and simple but totally affecting in its starkness and passionate delivery.

To these ears, The New Dress sounds like Lemuria meets Defiance, Ohio or Billy Bragg or something like that. And speaking of Billy Bragg, the band cover’s his song “I Don’t Need The Pressure, Ron” and also Ed Pickford’s “Workers’ Song” on Where Our Failures Are. It is a bit personal and a bit political and a perfect example of when exactly simple is better than complex and when less = more. It’s an album that will surely make my soon to be revised best of 2007 list.

MP3 | The New Dress – Setting Off Alarms Where Our Failures Are
MP3 | The New Dress – Where Our Failures Are Where Our Failures Are

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1. Review: Defiance, Ohio – The Fear, The Fear, The Fear
2. Review: Defiance, Ohio – The Great Depression (or) if it ain’t cheap, it ain’t punk
3. Review: Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Beware
4. Review: Lemuria – Get Better
5. Review: Two Cow Garage – Speaking In Cursive