CD Review: Southview – “Sunny Places for Shady People” (Standby Records)
Falling more in line with Brand New’s My Favorite Weapon than most everything
else in the pop-punk lexicon, Southview’s sophomore EP Sunny Places for Shady People is a trio of well-crafted acoustic tunes
that, while unplugged, succeed in capturing the genre’s passionate spirit. The
opening title track delves into a relationship gone awry (‘I’ve drawn the line
too many times for me to wait for you to change’) laid atop a bed of lush,
intricate guitar plucks, raw emotionality bleeds from “What Did You Expect,”
another track that deals with heartbreak (‘So spend your time trying to find
all the answers / You’ll have a hard time to find something better’), and the
albums standout cut, the closing “Interstate 75,” conjures the desire to hit
the crank the stereo, roll down the windows, hit the open road and just leave
everything behind thanks to stirring lines like ‘Start the car / Cali’s not
that far / And we’ve got enough cash to last us ‘til fall / And back home it
always would wither away.’ While it’s just over 10 minutes long, Sunny Places for Shady People manages to
be a lot of things – well-written, digestible and, most of all, thoroughly
enjoyable.
Grade: B
Go Download: “Interstate 75”
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