Search - Adorable :: Against Perfection

Absolutely brilliant, top-notch British pop music!

Rick Taylor | Silver Spring, MD United States | 04/28/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'll cut right to the chase here. Adorable's hugely overlooked and grossly underappreciated debut album, "Against Perfection", is easily among the finest pieces of pure pop pleasure I have in my ridicously bloated CD collection. If you enjoy the darker, moodier side of pop music (especially if you listen to British alt/indie rock), and if you have a sweet tooth for the 3-4 minute single, then this album is for you.Opening track "Sunshine Smile" is simply breathtaking. This song is so good, it is worth the price of the CD alone. Alternating between an infectious arpeggiated guitar melody (with an absolutely killer harmony part that sounds sooooo good!) and a crushingly heavy guitar riff that would make the Reid brothers weep with envy, this track encapsulates what the very essence of the Adorable sound is: unbelievably catchy and emotional vocal lines combined with melodic and abrasive sounding guitar parts that work in tandem to create something that is at once both beautiful and destructive. Many Adorable fans cite the track "Homeboy" as the band's zenith and it's easy to see why. This track is easily one of the most infectious pop tunes I have ever heard. The fact that I sing this song in the shower almost daily is a testament to that (laugh). Combining a brooding bass line with simple but effective guitar parts and moody vocals, this track is a homerun for British pop music. Whoever thought that something this dark, moody and angry sounding could also be so incredibly infectious? Adorable proves it can be done with flying colors (as long as those flying colors are all different shades of black---laugh)... While the band largely stick to this winning formula throughout the record, they do manage to eschew the "one-trick pony" trappings of such bands as The Jesus & Mary Chain by offering songs with wider and more spacious dynamics, such as the introspective sounding "A to Fade In" and the quiet, but still brooding, "Still Life" and "Breathless."The album closes on a triumphant note with the dramatic "I'll Be Your Saint"---another song that could easily serve as an exemplary example on How To Write A Good Pop Song for all prospective musicians.To sum up, this is a wonderful record from start to finish. And you don't have to enjoy bands like Jesus & Mary Chain, Echo & the Bunnymen & The House of Love to appreciate it. This album is for anyone who treasures well-written pop melodies and music with genuine feeling and emotion. Give yourself a nice little treat and order this album as soon as you can!"

Just Buy It

LHB | Dallas, TX | 06/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Unless this is reissued, you're never going to find it cheap nowadays. But with the shoegaze "revival" that's been going on recently, and the great import reissues from Ride and Slowdive (with formerly impossible to find EP tracks included, the Claire Records reissues (Secret Shine "After Years," Ecstasy of St.Theresa "Sussurate"), etc there are really only three hard to find, expensive shoegaze albums out there: this one, Lilys "In the Presence of Nothing," and Drop Nineteens "Delaware." OK, there's the impossibly expensive early Moose stuff and "Mrs. Dolphin" but Moose was overrated and the first two Pale Saints EPs aren't that hard to find. If finances are an issue, this is unquestionably the one to get. The Lily's is a blast, but it really does sound a lot like MBV. "Delaware" is likewise a must-have, but it isn't on the same level as this album. Against Perfection is unlike anything else, really. "Sunshine Smile" is at least as incredible as described by other reviewers, and the rest of the album really rocks out from behind a ceiling-high wall of beautiful guitar noise. There isn't a dud on the album, and the stellar tracks are really about as good a pop music gets, period. The only problem is not wearing out the repeat button on your remote after "Sunshine Smile.""

AP - A Must Own.

MEWZIK | 11/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Adorable is more popular now than they have ever been. Ironic, considering their break-up was due to lack of interest from the press and their label Creation.



What I can say about Against Perfection except it is perfection. When you look back at the shoegaze movement, Adorable did not exactly fit the mold of the genre. While acts like Slowdive, Chapterhouse, My Bloody Valentine and Ride had the definition defined, Against Perfection took many of the elements of shoegaze and added the backbone of Echo & The Bunnymen and Jesus & Mary Chain. If you saw them live, the crowd was not looking at their shoes - they were jumping around, having a ball.



If you do not have AP, you might as well get the US release once distributed through SBK. The UK edition will not include three tracks, one being Sunshine Smile, the song that put Adorable on the map stateside.



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