Lodger / Life Is Sweet

Slumberland

Since forming in 2004, The Lodger has thrilled informed pop lovers with their special brand of classic English guitar pop. Starting with a string of four singles and culminating in their brilliant debut album, Grown-Ups--which drew comparisons to heavyweights like The Smiths and The Wedding Present--the band has gone from strength to strength, developing a polished, literate sound that shows a keen interest in critical pop touchstones like The Go-Betweens, Aztec Camera, and Orange Juice but is still planted firmly in today.  As great as Grown-Ups is, Life Is Sweet, The Lodger's brand new full-length, ups the ante even further. More textural and varied than its predecessor, Life Is Sweet is still filled with gorgeous melodies and catchy tunes, but is also deeper and more thoughtful, full of emotional peaks and valleys. Rather than just chip in with an album of "more of the same," the band has paid extra attention to the arrangements, with 12-string and acoustic guitars, lap steel, and violin adding crucial detail and depth to the tunes.  And what about the songs? These are easily the strongest batch of Lodger tunes yet. Opener "My Finest Hour" is an upbeat charmer that reminds one of The Pale Fountains, setting a wistful tone for the rest of the album. First single "The Good Old Days" is pure Sound of Young Scotland energy; with its scratchy riff, driving drums, sing-along chorus, and bouncing bass, it's bound to fill dancefloors for years to come. "Honey" is a beautiful country-tinged lament, and "A Year Since Last Summer" is pure guitar-pop pleasure, a two-minute tribute to the genius of The Housemartins.  And so it goes--superb tune after superb tune, each one distinct from the others but together building Life Is Sweet into an assured example of the pop songwriter's and band's craft. It's a true classic--a brilliantly written, produced, and sequenced album that reveals new facets and produces new favorites with each listen.  "Full of glittering gems, Grown-Ups is proof that the best things come in small packages. You won't hear a better album this year, we promise you that." --This Is Fake DIY  "Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2007" --Amazon.com

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