To be fair, I probably was a little harsh on the last This Providence record - a cd I described as "inoffensively lovely" and "another band off that mainstream conveyor belt, arsenal already loaded with enough radio-friendly hits to make Britney Spears blush". It's a statement I still stand by - 'Our World's Divorce' is a great record but doesn't quite hit Cartel's heady heights - so you can imagine my surprise that This Providence's Fueled By Ramen debut is not as sugar-coated and poppier than a bang at a party. Instead, TP have added a Gatsbys American Dream-style that makes them far more interesting, yet slightly less accessible. And that, ladies and gents, makes them ever-so-slightly better.
This self-titled album isn't as catchy as the last album. That's a fact. And while it does still have catchy melodies and huge chorus hooks, they're not quite as big as they were last time around. And, to be honest, that's a refreshing surprise because I half expected this record to be so incredibly shiny and happy it could easily have gone very, very wrong indeed. The good news for fans is while this record is less instant, it's still equally enjoyable and remains accessible. The hooks and harmonies are still present and correct - 'Card House Dreamer' is a corker and many of these tracks remain instantly hummable - but the band have added a side to them which they'd previously masked, or, possibly more likely, just didn't know existed. As a result, the off-kilter drums and mid-tempos make this stand out a lot more than you might expect it to, keeping things interesting when another pop-tastic record may have taken the shine away - metaphorically of course.
The Gatsbys American Dream influence shines through on one track where the band repeat lyrics from their last album - a trick GAD have managed to perfect throughout many of their records. And while it does slightly smack of imitation, it does show just how heavily This Providence have moved from their previous incarnation. There's progression - without doing too much new - and I guess that's all you can ask from a band. If you liked the last album, you'll like this one too.
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