PRINTSound Advice: Somebody Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Pershing
Polyvinyl Records
April 3, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Boris Yeltsin’s not losing any love yet. The infamously named band from Springfield, Mo., Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, might be introducing the former Russian president’s name to a whole new generation. Sophomore album Pershing warms listeners with swelling harmonies and sonic edge straight out of the ’60s.
The first notes of album opener “Glue Girls” reveal one of the release’s defining traits: polish. The band’s newfound confidence is apparent in previously unimagined rocking choruses in “Boring Fountain.”
Related LinksIn 2005, the quintet gave off a grainier, softer vibe with Broom, which features songs such as “Pangea” that melted hipster hearts and crashed the music blogosphere.
Three years and 11 pop songs later, the band is stronger than ever. The hip and catchy album clocks in at a little more than 35 minutes, which makes it about 8 minutes longer than Broom and also carries less whimsical filler. All songs pulse with variety, and the album particularly shines on “Some Constellation” and “Oceanographer.”
Yet Pershing’s greatest strength is also its weakness. Lines like “Think I wanna die / if you don’t stay / drop dead in place / you can forget it” might awe fangirls with earnestness, yet they also conjure the image of a high school kid jamming in a garage. The band sounds patently young and like a juiced-up Nada Surf.
Even so, pop verve and such songs as “You Could Write a Book” will win indie fans over and secure this genuinely remarkable little album a place on playlists. Some maturing remains, but the band’s still calling well-deserved attention to the Missouri music scene.
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