The third Sighs records arrives a might tardily 20 or so years after their last, and I’m tempted to say it’s worth the wait. The opener is a bit stodgy, then with Words Of Love a cavalcade of lovely harmony drenched power pop oozes into my ears. Thoughts of Another piles on the harmonies – it’s the kind of melancholy that makes sadness worthwhile. Even that though can’t hold a candle to the chorus of Words of Love, which really will have you scrambling back to your Big Star records. That’s followed by the title track that gets me all nostalgic for College Rock. Remember all those bands that sprung up around REM like Bleached Black, who made a record or two then disappeared? The Sighs have managed to return without sullying their reputation.
Love, From Lisa flirts with psychedelia sounding a bit like the Green Pyjamas whilst maintaining a playful pop edge. They don’t translate to ballads as well as they might – Lift Me Up tries but the chorus fails to ignite and it ends up sounding a little laboured, indeed the second half of the record fails to build on the polished jangle of the first. The valedictory live cut Think About Soul is also extraneous. But there aren’t many bands who hit such a rich vein of form as they do in the first half, even if twenty years out of the game can rob you of your legs in the second.
Summary
Back after twenty years with another slice of power pop pie
