At the apex of earnest indie pop, the period during which their first two full-lengths were recorded, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin were a mild, dime-a-dozen act.
Today, the Missouri four-piece are still a mild, dime-a-dozen act — but because they've retained, and even fortified, a wholesome ethos while their peers have been building fortresses of emotional detachment out of amateur electronic muck, Let It Sway feels refreshingly rebellious. And, likely thanks to production by Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla, it's tighter and richer than the band's prior efforts. Relinquishing a tendency toward acoustic moping or wobble atop timid riffs, SSLYBY here offer a more aggressive, rollicking power pop, along with some sincere self-depreciation.
"I can't believe you haven't killed me yet," frontman Philip Dickey sings on "My Terrible Personality." Later, on a boyish and anthemic "All Hail Dracula!", he chants: "I'll never need another friend/I'm never breaking up again." There's nothing all that intelligent about anything SSLYBY have said or played, and Let It Sway is no exception — but someone will always love pure, simple, feel-good pop rock.
