Search - Popinjays :: Tales From the Urban Prairie

An Underrated Gem. The Very Epitome of a Buried Treasure.

Barrettbowie | Oakland, CA | 05/13/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The history of rock and pop muisc is of course littered with casualties, both self-inflicted and purely a result of bad luck: original or perhaps even talented performers plagued by bad management, poor production, minimal promotion, and/or other forms of record label negligience bordering on criminal abuse. Alternatively, of course, a band simply projects a style and sound out of touch with public taste. In still other instances, a band simply loses interest after releasing, say, one great album or a clutch of great singles, thus thwarting any possibility of expanding its audience through touring or college radio gigs.



Honestly, I'm not sure what category this band, The Popinjays, fall into. Perhaps a combination of all three. At any rate, this is a great alternative pop rock album in the vein of the Cranberries--only better. Led by the delicate acoustic guitar strumming of Polly Hancock and the captivating (and very Anglo) vocal stylings of Wendy Robinson, the Popinjays craft a dreamy seductive world of swirling, effortless melodies and memorable choruses. The album is undoubtedly filled with melancholy, but is suprisingly never overly sentimental. The inherent sadness, then, evokes admiration and sympathy, not annoyance.



All of the songs, from top to bottom, are quite strong, but my favorites are undoubtedly the nearly anthemic opener "Queen of the Parking Lot," the mesmerizing "When I Believed in You" and the the rollicking closer "Drive the Train". In an alternate, better world these would have been smash pop singles, topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. As it stands in this world, however, we instead have a forgotten bargain bin filler. A shame. At this price, you must buy this album and spread the word. Trust me, like an unexpectedly profitable penny stock, this is well worth the investment."