“Salvation” and some Perms
This is kind of a tough one.
The Perms are a group of — from what I remember of the brief Manitoba days of my previous life — exceedingly nice gentlemen who traffic in a vein of power-pop not dissimilar to the pantheon of Canadian pop-rock bands that have come before them. Comparisons to your Plutos, Gandharvas, Limblifters, Bloody Chiclettes, Starlings, et al are apt, as the entire album is washed in constant harmonies and sweet backing vocals, handclaps, tambourines, and a propulsive two-guitar attack.
Admittedly, I’m a fan of the genre. But for some reason I’m going back and forth on this record. Some spins its a slice of toe-tapping greatness, some spins it seems downright anonymous, almost to the point of fading into the background.
Don’t get me wrong: they do absolutely nothing wrong and do nearly everything right. The songs are the band’s most compelling yet and the energy and enthusiasm is there in spades. The tunes are catchy, well-produced, tightly-written, and radio-ready. They sound like they’ve absorbed and taken extensive notes from their forefathers (a Sloan vibe hits early and often) and worked hard to put their own gruff spin on the sound.
A lot of work clearly went into the album and it has plenty of engaging moments. “Give Me All Your Loving” is a catchy, propulsive opening track backed up with some strong swagger. Closer “Salvation” is a high point, slowing things down before ripping into a chorus that could be just as easily about God as it could be a girlfriend. The ambiguity is nice. I think this genre tends to benefit from a little guile. They even sort-of briefly crib the melody from “Footloose” in “Nightshift,” which really threw me off-balance for a second. The song is one of the better tracks on the album despite that retro transgression, amping up the energy and jangle. Later, on “Big Mistake,” the verse hook is eerily reminiscent of some classic guitar pop that I can’t place but I know I’ve heard dozens of times.
But for some reason there are times when I just don’t find myself that heavily drawn to this release. There’s something ineffable about Keep You Up When You’re Down that, on roughly every second spin, leaves me thinking I’ll probably wind up listening to it a few times before abandoning it to collect dust on my CD shelf. It’s a shame, because I really want to like it. I still have a copy of their self-titled debut I picked up at Arcade Records and Tapes in Medicine Hat and it was a very cute and praise-worthy album.
I have no doubt that it will gain an audience in the power-pop community, possibly a very large one. Its got just the right amount of bubblegum, but it doesn’t always taste so sweet. Listen below and judge for yourself.
the Perms - Give Me All Your Lovin' [2:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download the Perms - the Mess: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadCheck out the Not Lame Records store for purchase or CD Baby for physicals. iTunes has digitals.
