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Hiring synth-pop vet Trevor Horn (Buggles, Art of Noise) to
produce their latest record may seem like a ploy to surf back
into the spotlight via the ever-swelling wave of 80’s
appreciation, but Dear Catastrophe Waitress isn’t just
a bucket of thin pigment with a glossy nu-new-wave finish.
Rather, Waitress finds the band refocused and rejuvenated;
from the opening “Step Into My Office, Baby,”
the rhythms and melodies leap and twist about with the rekindled
enthusiasm of a Broadway dancer’s first performance
after spending a year in a wheelchair. Traces of the band’s
rich autumnal hues still exist (“Piazza, New York Catcher,”
“Lord Anthony”), but the palette takes a greater
shift towards the bright and summery (“Asleep On a Sunbeam,”
“Wrapped Up in Books,” “If She Wants Me”).
Though such a shift sometimes renders Horn’s orchestrations
and new-wave sensibilities superfluous, they’re more
than welcome, considering they make Waitress the most fun
B & S record yet. And while the band has often hinted
at its 60’s pop influences, it’s refreshing to
hear them wear a few unexpected tributes on their sleeves,
from Thin Lizzy (“I’m a Cuckoo”) to CSNY
(“Roy Walker”) to The Police (“Stay Loose”).
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