aaamusic | On 20, May 2012

Oh it must be summer 2012. Here come The Coronas with a big ol’ stadium pop number, all pianos and keening melodies on the guitar. There’s a dusting of melancholy to the tones here, albeit one that never runs against the oh-so-danceable rhythm. I suppose to some extent, this is Coldplay on a good night out: heartfelt, melodic, impeccably arranged, bittersweet, kind of makes me wonder if I remembered to feed the cat earlier, the list goes on, but with an added spark of energy. It’s funny – given this familiar feel, I was expecting the lyrics to be a right pile of gubbins, but actually, credit where it’s due, they are a bit of a weird little singalong but the kind that has a poetic, sideways approach to the whole pop song affair, and means that you can listen closely without getting disappointed, which may sound a bit of a backhanded compliment but given that pop of this stripe normally makes me break out in hives, or at least break out The Hives to clean my ears, we’re not doing too badly. But for all the ways it will doubtless be covering the airwaves this summer and hitting every other festival in a park somewhere with its poppy sheen over clean guitars and some incredibly melodic vocals, I can’t really muster up much of an opinion beyond “glossy and inoffensive, neat lyrics”. Make of that what you will.

★★★★★

Katie H-Halinski