Eternal Summers | Correct Behavior

Kanine (2012)  
By REYAN ALI  |  July 3, 2012
3.5 3.5 Stars

eternal1

Attempting to construct a simultaneously diverse and great record is a gamble. For it to work, the band must come up with not just one good, sustainable idea but a whole bundle, and then go about arranging complements and contradictions in a coherent but provocative way. Pulling this off isn't easy, which is why props go to Eternal Summers for going all-in with the smart, multi-faceted Correct Behavior. The second full-length from the Roanoke trio (our Virginia pick in last year's Phoenix 50 Bands 50 States issue) contains vulnerable, melancholy Matador/Sub Pop–style '90s indie rock ("Millions"), a slow and woozy torch song ("Good As You"), an elated surf-pop dance party with many a tender "Ooh-wooh-wooh-wooh" ("I Love You"), and, bizarrely, a cold interlude with drummer Daniel Cundiff doing talky, morose vocals like he's in some old art-punk or early emo act ("Girls in the City"). Sonically, Behavior sounds a little like the Pixies' Doolittle, but the two records also share a fiendishly liberated, unpredictable spirit. Nearly every song delivers. Behavior isn't likely to be a Doolittle-like classic, but no biggie. This album marks a promising band moving from really good to almost-great, and being here to witness Summers' prime is a prize in itself.

Related: Eternal Summers | The Dawn Of Eternal Summers, Various Artists | Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010, Bearstronaut | Broken Handclaps, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Music, Arts, CD reviews,  More more >
| More


Most Popular
ARTICLES BY REYAN ALI
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   MARNIE STERN | THE CHRONICLES OF MARNIA  |  March 13, 2013
    In the arena of charming and entertaining indie-music figures, Marnie Stern stands unopposed.
  •   NO REST FOR BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD  |  March 13, 2013
    Blackbird Blackbird's 2012 EP Boracay Planet takes its name from two sources: Boracay — a beach-filled, postcard-perfect island in the Philippines — and a dream Mikey Maramag had about the tourist trap, despite never having visited.
  •   WILD BELLE PUSH MAGICAL BUTTONS  |  February 11, 2013
    Wild Belle's multi-ethnic allegiances — Afropop, reggae, and rocksteady — fuse into American indie-pop and classic rock. Results are, at varying times, tropical, tepid, and tempestuous.
  •   THE LUMINEERS AIM FOR THE RAFTERS  |  February 01, 2013
    Jeremiah Fraites isn't famous — at least not yet. The drummer of the Lumineers, the folk trio who experienced an outrageously fruitful 2012, is talking to me two days before appearing on the January 19 Saturday Night Live, but he doesn't sound convinced that his band have crossed the fame threshold.
  •   PHANTOM GLUE COME INTO FOCUS  |  January 23, 2013
    Variations of "nightmarish" and "psychedelic" come up repeatedly as Matt Oates describes his band's work — which makes sense, given that Phantom Glue trace their roots back to Slayer, the Jesus Lizard, and cult post-hardcore act KARP.

 See all articles by: REYAN ALI