[This review was first published in Badaboom Gramophone #3 and appears here with permission.]
For some groups, a description like “too cutesy” is the greatest of compliments. As members in good standing of the British twee scene in the early ’90s, Strawberry Story were immersed in its sweet’n’infantile rules — fast tempos, upbeat songs and coy, high-pitched vocals (preferably female) — learned from such forerunners as Talulah Gosh and Razorcuts. The songwriting duo of James Peterson and Rex Stinson were able to twist melodies into charming affairs of the heart, and the female singer who fronted the group fit their apparent purpose to a T. Clamming for It, which also contains prior singles and previously unreleased songs (including a sprightly cover of Stone Roses’ “Made of Stone”), is highlighted by the acoustic “Ashlands Road” and the fast-moving “Behind This Smile.”