Bishop Allen
Charm School

LA RECENSIONE

"Everybody's saying
that I'm not so cool
so I'm going back to charm school"

If a record opens with such words, how can you not embrace such folks? Yes, they are awfully cheesy, incurable losers, buffoons, derivatives, just like those who listen to this album and enjoy it. And what can you do, you cannot turn your back on your nature...
You'll be singing it in the privacy of your bedroom, this utterly private secret. Yes, you'll sing the lines mimicking them with your lips, pretending you're holding the microphone and moving your shoulders, you won't be able to resist...
What will you be singing? A classic American indie mix of sixties, folk, rock'n'roll, sprinkled with country and bluegrass: classifiable under the heading "nothing new under the sun." Yet they are catchy, they know how to create beautiful vocal harmonies, nice uptempo rides ("Charm School"), great choral moments ("Bishop Allen Drive", "Coupla Easy"), they make music never for its own sake, never as a display of style.
Nothing can convince me otherwise that they are a sort of Rino Gaetano from Brooklyn; there, I've said it, but damn "Another Wasted Night" starts just like "Gianna" and develops with many similarities! Only Rino Gaetano is honestly better...

In conclusion, not exactly original, but always catchy, very enjoyable, fresh, simple. In short... summery! Indulge yourself and take a ride on this merry-go-round, you'll come back for more!