Search - Cinerama :: Torino

A sign of new life in alt-pop?

L. C. Murtaugh | Salt Lake City, UT USA | 11/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Cinerama still don't have the sort of following that they deserve, and I consider it an amazingly fortunate accident that I know about them at all. I've given their CDs to several people, and no one has failed to like them. Their latest is their best, an absolute triumph of pop-rock. Bandleader/singer/songwriter David Gedge specializes in songs about what you might call "lying in bed," and here, under the characteristically-tender touch of producer Steve Albini, he marries his sardonic, bitter humor to the sort of gale-force guitarwork that it's been craving all along. The music, in other words, aurally enacts the very emotions that underpin the lyrics.And what lyrics! Gedge takes the basic rhyming couplet as far as any rock songwriter before him. From "Estrella," in which he begs his girlfriend to take note of his cheating, and make it easy by breaking up with him: "Oh, yes believe me, yes, you should leave me/You're making it too hard/How can you disregard/What I'm doing, who I've been screwing?" From the ironically-titled "Get Smart," imploring his adulterous wife to be a bit more discreet: "No don't flip, here's a tip: all it needs is a little thought/This will surprise you, but I don't want you to get caught/That's a price that I'll pay to stop you going away/Keep telling your lies, I won't criticise if it means you will stay."The album winds up on a much more tender note, "Health and Efficiency," in which Gedge looks back wistfully on a youthful love affair. As he notes, "This is such a cliche but/You don't appreciate the joy until you lose it." As true of the passing of early-90s alt rock as of anything else. Here's to the possible signs of a new spring."

Pretty Darned Good

Doctor Evans | CA United States | 09/20/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Wedding Present it's not, but David Gedge's latest effort is not bad. Actually it's better than his previous Cinerama efforts. I categorize it as cheezy aged britpop. They are coming to San Francisco in 2 weeks, and I am going to see them on the strength of this album."