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Tuesday, July 3, 2007
 

 

Before I begin I want you to know that Transformers is quite possibly the dumbest movie I've ever seen.  It's also highly entertaining, so feel free to matinee it.  Anyway, today I have a crafty quartet by the name of Ms. Led.  The Seattle based band have apparently been making their special brand of power pop since 1999, but the email in which I was clued in on the recent release of their new disc, Shake Yourself Awake, was the first time that I had ever heard them.  That kind of puts me at a disadvantage when it comes to comparing the new material to the old, but more in-depth research will just have to wait until some point in the future because I'm eager to put the two catchy as hell gems below straight into your ears.  Enjoy.

:Ms Led - Up To The Old Tricks:  "Never wanted to need anybody/Get too close/And then move on to the next one."  The lyrical content of this song kind of hits hard given that the primary songwriter for the group, Lesli Wood, wrote the album in the midst of dealing with her Multiple Sclerosis and trying to finish law school.  With that much stress I would probably write the most slow burning collection of songs ever, but that's not what Lesli did.  She, as shown here, decided to go the way of Sleater Kinney meets 60s pop; it works for me.

:Ms Led - Willing To Stay (Shattered):  "Don't tell me that you're giving up this time/Just tell me that you'll try."  To be honest, this could easily be mistaken for the song above in terms of sound if you aren't paying attention.  Fortunately though, you won't ever be paying that much attention to the arrangement of this sugary sweet number.  Instead, your time will be spent singing along and taking note of the lyrical quips that Lesli throws your way.  Personally, I think it could be worse.

PS - If you would like to read my first full review for the Austin Sound then you can find it here.

- John Laird -



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