Polyvinyl Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin [clever post title. i know. it's a gift.] i've always had this frustrated relationship with Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - and not because i have to acronym (verb) their name everytime i refer to them. it's because they sound so much like someone else. i've spent unreasonably long periods of time driving or walking or painting or standing on my head literally figuring out every little nook and cranny of these songs in terms of everyone else's music. i know! i know. totally unfair. but i know you want to know what i've come up with.

basically, SSLYBY is a lumpy, jangly lovechild. it starts with Ben Kweller. he and the members of The Shins - i guess more Flake Music, if we're going to be precise - decide to jump in a time machine and go back to the days of Weezer's blue album. there they meet up with Rivers and decide to have a naked party - some kind of Bacchanal thing, i don't know what those crazy musicians do - and they get visits throughout the night from Rogue Wave, Neil Finn (yep), Sufjan Stevens drops by with only enough time for a piano number, and others, little things everywhere. in the morning, they have Boris Yeltsin. and they stand there, confused. today, we assure Boris that at least someone still wants him, needs him, loves him. Someone Still Loves You. we promise, ol' Yelts.

the adopted parents - Polyvinyl - are now releasing their debut LP Broom with remastered tracks, WAY better sound (baby's got some brand new toys), and i'll bet the cover art is prettier too. just shine that thing up...

the thing is, once you listen to this enough times, it's just plain amazing music. it's so comfortably familiar to begin with that your attachment creeps up on you, but with each passing listen it's evident that they're just a great band with the same inspirations that drive us to this independent music scene, too. and they morph from that lumpy lovechild to a mold of their own. they begin, flowering, to sound just like themselves.

::::some of my favorites, now remastered:
SSLYBY - What'll We Do
SSLYBY - Oregon Girl
SSLYBY - Yr Broom
all highly recommended. this band has been one of my absolute favorites this year.

check out the hype on these guys, and visit their space. get their Polyvinyl release next Tuesday, or right now. love them. need them. so someone still does.  shan  8:32 AM  |  view comments (0)