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So there's this band called Saturday Looks Good To Me, right? They're from Michigan, and they're the brainchild of Fred Thomas [of Lovesick, His Name Is Alive, and many more]. The basic premise of said band seems to be "let's play fairly straightforward 60's-esque pop songs and record them in a vintage style, making people think they really *are* fairly straightforward pop songs actually from the 60's."

Yeah, it's kind of confusing, but it's the best explanation I can come up with. The cast of musicians on this record [almost 30 strong in all] feature some of indie rock's notables like Ted Leo and Tara Jane O'Neill contributing vocals, but the album is so confusingly put together that I have no idea who plays or sings what where.

Each of the album's 13 tracks sound like they are from a time capsule that was buried under Motown Records in the early sixties. While each of these songs contain that vintage sound [which really makes me wonder how Fred recorded these songs], they are unique enough from each other in most cases. The upbeat numbers are here, the ballads are here, the just plain "artsy" tracks are here, and somehow they all seem to coalesce into an easy-to-swallow album.

My biggest complaint about the disc is that each song runs into another - that is, there is no down time between songs, but no segues either. One ends and another begins without even a split second in between them. Maybe Fred was going for a "turning the dials of a radio" effect, in which case I applaud him; if he just decided to do the sequencing like this just to be difficult, then I should punch him in the gut.

If you're into sensitive indie rock like Belle and Sebastian or well-produced and well-orchestrated stuff like "Pet Sounds"-era Beach Boys, this album is right up your alley. I can see audiophiles all over the place perking their ears up as this CD plays out, almost wishing they could hear the grooves of the well-worn vinyl through their stylus but instead being disappointed that recordings this well-crafted are on a compact disc format.

But for us normal listeners, we'll just sit here and wonder "how in the hell did this band open on the Saves The Day tour last fall and not just get murdered by their fans?"

MP3
Meet Me By The Water

REAL AUDIO
Meet Me By The Water



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    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, January 19, 2006 at 9:13 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Gggggggggggggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaa aaaatttttttttttt

    ilovefred&erika

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 at 11:35 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    "Each of the album's 13 tracks sound like they are from a time capsule that was buried under Motown Records in the early sixties."

    Do you have any idea what Motown is? This isn't even close to sounding like Motown.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 3, 2004 at 10:23 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    yourself in five years: pitchfork up your ass, bowling balls in your eyes!

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 3, 2004 at 10:18 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    yourself in five years: pitchfork up your ass, bowling balls in your eyes!

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 11:17 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    "how in the hell did this band open on the Saves The Day tour last fall and not just get murdered by their fans?"

    Yeah, killed by fat 14 year old girls.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 2:03 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    "Oh, you mean it was a Railroad crossing? I get it, becouse the road crosses over railroad tracks, where choo-choo- trains go by! I get it now, and thanks for the help. (i think that i am turning dumber or somthing!!!!)

    Posted by sickboi on 2003-03-20 17:19:40
    My Score:

    The day I mean, not the nu-emo band.

    Posted by sickboi on 2003-03-20 17:19:22
    My Score:

    For some reason its all about Thursday here, I can't explain it.

    Posted by pope_schlomo on 2003-03-20 02:51:49
    My Score:

    This band name and Saturday Supercade has ruined the actual day of Saturday.

    Ramo

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 at 10:42 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    as long as we're on the subject of gimmicks... i know this doesn't have anything to do with music, but i was just thinkin' about it... since the cincinnati bengals suck so bad what if they got like old celebrities to make guest appearances at their games... like i can just see gary coleman storming down the sidelines in a vince lombardi style hat screaming at some big lineman.... ok i'll go away now

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 at 10:41 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    What the hell makes you think a STD fan would be so tough.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 at 4:08 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    I would have murderd them at the std show, but Ash played after them, and I really didn't care what happened next. Pretentious, neo-bohemian rock; what's not to like?

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-03-18 16:02:24
    My Score:

    It could be released on Saddle Creek as a concept album!

    Posted by degenerate on 2003-03-18 15:56:16
    My Score:

    Heres a gimmick - a monkey playing the flute. It would be great!

    Posted by HeyBarmold on 2003-03-18 14:54:04
    My Score:

    haha,how many times have you used that joke, and with how many different bands?

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 at 1:11 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    whats the differance between a bowling ball and a saves the day fan?
    you cant get a pitchfork stuck in a bowling ball.

    Posted by TenderBransonX on 2003-03-18 11:54:29
    My Score:

    These guys were really nice people when I went and saw them with Rainer Maria, but the music was average, some songs actually had a ska feel to them when the girl was singing.

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-03-18 11:47:01
    My Score:

    The whole concept behind this album is stupid. But it came out on Polyvinyl, so no one should be surprised.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 at 10:50 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Everyone needs a gimmick these days...

    -sickboi

    Posted by insinceredave on 2003-03-18 09:35:32
    My Score:

    Its just like the 60's have started again!

    insincere dave

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 at 6:14 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    They didn't get murdered by Saves the Day fans, because Saves the Day fans are a bunch of pussies.

    Posted by travis on 2003-03-18 03:26:31
    My Score:

    Eh, this album didnt do much for me. I was pretty excited to hear it, but other than a couple stand outs, it was just sort of there. Nothing too great.

    In other news, Scott, whats up with the random boldings of some reviews? Well, theyre not random, seeing as that theyre mostly for staff, but your friends reviews are bolded too. Any reason?

    Posted by HeyBarmold on 2003-03-18 02:56:40
    My Score:

    I slept while this band played with Saves the Day, but i fuckin love this cd.

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