Record Review: The Sunday Drivers - Tiny Telephone

The Sunday Drivers sound like John Lennon, the Beatles, R.E.M., the Wallflowers (I don't care what anyone says, I really, really like the Wallflowers and think they are underrated), sometimes like the Eels, some Stereophonics, and the Barney Miller theme song.

The Libertine's musical palate is more refined than my own. I am positive that if he listened to this album he would easily be able to describe the sounds better than I. I'll tell you what though, I like The Sunday Drivers and I think they deserve some fame.

Their eminently catchy single "Do It" should seal the deal and be on radio rotation daily. Why isn't it? Cause these guys are from Toledo . . . Spain. But here's the kicker, they sing in English!

Rant: I don't get the music industry, especially now. In the age of records, tapes, and compact discs I could wrap my mind around the concept that it took some time for an album to get across the big blue ocean. Physical media needs to be physically moved. OK.

I have no idea why albums aren't released simultaneously worldwide. Why the hell does iTunes/Apple continue the archaic practice of limiting an album to a country? This practice is a spandrel and no longer necessary. If I worked at a major label I would totally forgo the tedious country by country release. It's completely asinine and I don't care if you tell me it's because of "rights issues" I tell you it's because of bullshit and if the record companies actually embraced the digital age they would actually be selling more records and pleasing more fans than they ever have.

But I digress. Back to the review.

My favorite song on the album is "Life Is." In it they channel every flower power 60's-esqe Beatles cliché - vocal reverb, reverse drumming, the naïveté - and I find myself lapping it up. I mean c'mon:

Life could be a steal
If we make the deal
Watching our own illusions fly
And we live for the love we receive

It doesn't get more 40 odd years ago than that.

Next on my list is "Sing When You're Happy" which, from the title alone, needs no discourse by me. The music video could easily be a great, "I'm high off my ass floating in the clouds" treatment (See: Drugachusetts or Sarah Silverman on cough syrup). If you want a song to make you feel cuddly, this is it. (Think Sgt. Pepper - esp. “A Day In the Life.”)

There's something about this album that I like, despite the lackluster ratings I give the rest of the songs. The songs are good but on their own I can’t give them high numbers. However, I think the album on a whole is very listenable (though deceptively short).

And special.

Therefore, I am going to add 1 point to the over all album score. I think The Sunday Drivers have a really nice album in Tiny Telephone, one that is more than the sum of its parts.

I say, pick it up and smile while you listen.

Tiny Telephone Receives: 3.75

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Note: The Libertine and I employ different rating schemata. I rate individual songs on an album on a scale of 0-5 and then take the average. Here is how I arrived at my rating:

1. Rainbows of Colours: 3
2. She: 2
3. Do It: 3.5
4. Paranoid: 3
5. Life Is: 4
6. Little Chat: 2
7. Sing When You're Happy: 4
8. Day In Day Out: 2
9. Better If I: 2
10. Goodbye: 2

Total: 27.5/10 = 2.75
“Special-ness” factor: 1
Album Score: 3.75

I believe in the artist's right to album integrity (exemplified by Radiohead’s refusal to release their catalogue for purchase on a track by track basis).However, not every band is created equal. Same goes for songs. As we all know, some albums have only 1 or 2 good songs. I want to be able to show my readers which tracks are the “stand outs” in case they don’t want to, or can’t afford to, purchase an entire album.Every rating system is inherently subjective and a number, no matter how it is derived, can't definitively capture whether an album is good, bad, or in the middle. If you don’t agree with my review, I welcome your comments or email and am open to reconsider my initial views.