As befits a band named after a long-running soap, things don’t change very quickly in the world depicted by Scott & Charlene’s Wedding, but there’s plenty of drama to distract from the lack of progress. But time advances anyway, and SACW main man Craig Dermody can’t drown out no matter how he tries. So instead he writes about recognizing and trying not to care about encroaching loser-dom with an acuity that belies the slackness of his persona. Any changes in sound can be attributed more to the band changing around him than any grand design; while there’s a bit less winsome lilt and a bit more loud fuzz, the songs still sound like a bulked-up amalgam of early Pavement, Television Personalities and (your favorite shamble-rock outfit). Why change it if it works?
—Bill Meyer
