Cars Can Be Blue – Trace The Tension (Happy Happy Birthday To Me) LP

Product Description

TRACE THE TENSION” – a full five years since Cars Can Be Blue’s previous offering (2008’s “Doubly Unbeatable”) reveals a resolve more galvanized than ever to refute the tepid blandness of the current “indie” climate.  Track one (“You Gave Me”) kicks you squarely in the pants with a quick burst of fun/dumb bubblepunk, but then the mood gets moodier with “Lie”, a lovely slice of chugging misanthropic pop.  “On & On” is “classic” CCBB, all sweetly sarcastic spite and emotional wreckage, while “Battleship” capably channels the spirit of ’93 with the perfect heavy rotation segue in between The Breeders and Belly, whereas “Poor For Life” is an upbeat anthem for a downturned economy.  “Title Track” is a lean & mean instrumental worthy of a skate video montage, while “You Should Be Begging” uncorks screaming childish fury…and that’s just Side One, folks!  Flip the platter and you get “Monster”, the Jonathan Richman-meets-Cramps horror-camp classic of your nightmares, the blazing “Put Down the Gun” and “Banging My Head”, as well as flipping the script with some a cappella cuddlecore on “Before I Met You”.  Just when you thought CCBB had forgotten their roots, they sock you below the belt with “I Am A Slut”, the filthiest song you’ll be humming at the bus stop, before launching into the anti-authoritarian banger “Don’t Tell Me” and wrapping things up with the chirpy death waltz of “Off You Go”.  If you like your pop music brash, bold and occasionally belligerent, perhaps it’s time to “TRACE THE TENSION” with CCBB!!!

Tracklist: You Gave Me / Lie / On & On / Battleship / Poor For Life / Title Track / You Should Be Begging / Monster / Put Down The Gun / Banging My Head / Before I Met You / I Am A Slut / Don’t Tell Me / Off You Go

Happy Happy Birthday To Me HHBTM155