PowerPop:
The Cucumbers - All Things to You
By Gary Schwind
All Things to You is a terrific
album but it should come with a warning label. No, not a parental
advisory. It should read something like the following. “WARNING:
This CD contains very infectious songs. You may find yourself humming
or singing any number of the songs on this album.”
The Cucumbers put their hooks into the
listener immediately and have a very (pardon the pun) cool sound.
They combine power pop, melodious ballads as well as some sounds of the
60s. The album kicks off with two gems “Right Here, Right Now” and
“Whiskey.” Both of these songs are reminiscent of Velocity Girl and
for the record, “Whiskey” is one of those songs that you might find lodged
in your brain. They follow up those two songs with “Bad Attitude,”
which reminds me a lot of Echobelly.
Deena Shoshkes’ vocals remind me of Harriet
Wheeler of The Sundays, particularly on “Bend Me Like a Willow,” “You Know
It’s All Right,” and “The Warm Sound of Your Voice. Jon Fried does
a good job taking the lead vocals on a couple songs (“Happiness,”
“All Things to You” ), but I have to say I prefer Deena’s dreamy vocals.
There are some things about this band that
draw comparisons to Apples in Stereo as well. First, they split the
vocals between a male and female vocalist. Secondly, both are heavily
influenced by 60s music. The Cucumbers dabble in some psychedelic
sound in “Happiness” and “Look Out You.” The final comparison to
Apples in Stereo is that both bands can make bright, happy sounding music
without seeming too treacly or saccharine.
This album is chock full of good songs,
my favorite being “Bend Me Like a Willow.” If you like any of the
bands I mentioned, you should own this album. I bet you won’t be
able to listen to it just once and I also bet that the songs will play
in your head long after the disc stops spinning.
CD Info
The Cucumbers
- All Things to You
Label: Morphius
Records
Rating:  
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