Album Review: babysue

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“We don’t normally review CD-Rs…but in this case there’s no actual physical CD as Spells is only being officially released on vinyl and as a digital download. If there’s one word we could use to sum up this band’s sound that word would be…unpretentious. Instead of clobbering their listeners over the head with complexity and technology, the folks in The Laureates offer a nice crisp clear dose of underground guitar driven pop. You won’t hear hundreds of overdubs here, the latest sampled sounds, or the coolest new synths. Rather and instead, these folks use the basics (guitar, bass, drums, vocals) to deliver their cool rhythm-driven pop/rockers. In terms of overall sound, what these guys are doing reminds us somewhat of The Feelies…but the songs themselves are markedly different. Lotsa cool guitar licks here and some really killer vocals that sound like it’s a real person (?!) singing. Cool rockin’ stuff…simply neat and totally hip.”