Rock ‘n’ roll, in its pure unadulterated form, has made a sort of comeback in recent years. 2007 saw the Pink Spiders release Hot Pink, a modern rock ‘n’ roll classic and, following in that 50s-infused trend comes Our Love’s Enormous by Buen Chico. This Party is a strong album opener, reminiscent of the band’s debut outing Right to Re-Arrange. Upbeat and catchy hooks disguise potent lyrics about coping with disappointment and rejection, but somehow making us feel OK and rather jolly about it all.
Next up is Tell ‘Em!, a Buddy Holly-esque protest song about the government. I kid you not! And as odd as it may sound, it really works, blending politics and sunny pop to create a fantastic indie track.
Moving through the album we reach Baptized, one of Buen Chico’s slower moments, which harbours a delicate string arrangement in amongst the indie guitars and strong vocals.
Rag & Bone Man is, in contrast, seemingly a strange mixture of old-school fuzzy punk guitars playing an almost 12-bar blues style riff, showing that although the band seem to be taking themselves more seriously this time around, they still aren’t afraid to have a bit of fun.
Bad for Business leads the album back into a more recognisably Buen Chico sound, with catchy choruses and harmonies mixed in with thick slabs of indie guitars. This is prime material for a hit summer record if ever there was.
Normality doesn’t last for long, however, as we flow from indie to obscurity on There’s No Machine. This entirely a capella track contains beautiful harmonies in yet another turn to the imaginative from this inventive band who are clearly proving to themselves, if not the rest of us, that they are definitely not one-trick ponies. Think Biffy Clyro’s There’s No Such Man As Crasp but much more upbeat!The chunky guitars then return on a trio of great, catchy indie gems: See Who Wins, Happy As Larry and Fix Stuff. Chunky guitars are in abundance on these tracks, and they fly by perfectly summing up the attitude and ‘funness’ of the band. The latter, Fix Stuff, proves once again that they are here to have fun, as singer Morgan Tatchell-Evans tells a tale of mending his favourite bag with a sewing kit!
As an album closer, Just As Long As There’s A Spark is a fairly sombre affair, but stands to show that Buen Chico have grown up since their last album. They are obviously still able to have fun, and the music on this record emulates this, however their playing and musicality has advanced in directions that fans maybe didn’t anticipate. This is altogether a very satisfying follow-up to 2007’s Right to Re-Arrange. Multiple listens allow the listener to fully appreciate what is going on in each song, as more and more is revealed every time, as we realise that Buen Chico’s love for music is enormous.
Our Love’s Enormous is out now and available on iTunes, via the band’s MySpace and in selected stores.
Find out more about Buen Chico on their MySpace page: www.myspace.com/buenchico
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