[This review was originally published in Badaboom Gramaphone #3 and appears here with permission.]
Formed (as Wimp Rocket) at Yale University in the spring of 1992 , Holiday (named by Stephin and Claudia of the Magnetic Fields) released its self-titled debut in 1995. The album evokes simpler times; its upbeat, cheery, even (intentionally?) naïve, fuzzy pop alludes to Pavement as well as to the handclaps of ’60s pop. The album art — bright blue, red and yellow — has a tropical harbor theme that reflects the record’s sunny nature. “Fifteen Dollars” and “Soft Batch” are indie-pop gems, while the instrumental track hidden after several minutes of silence at the end of the disc is the quartet’s most rocking track.
A certain maturity shines through on Ready, Steady, Go!, which sounds like it was made in Glasgow — think BMX Bandits, Aztec Camera, Go-Betweens — rather than at producer Dave Trumfio’s Kingsize Soundlabs studio in Chicago. (KSL has since relocated to Los Angeles.) With a skillful arrangement in the spirit of Sgt. Pepper’s, “She’s Not the Person You Think You Know” is wonderfully accented by piano as well as horns. A remake of “Prostitutes in Town,” which first appeared as a 7-inch single on the band’s own Tasty Bits label, now has shimmering organ. The head-turning melodies of “It’s Wrong to Love” and “So Ordinary” chime along, but “Who’s Gonna Find Out,” an obvious bid for mass appeal, sinks with mundane subject matter and unimaginative hooks. Ready, Steady, Go! closes on a sardonic note with “The Likely End of Our Best Days.”
Cafe Reggio, which includes all four songs from the 1993 EP, was recorded after a lineup change: drummer Calvin Chin replaced by J. Niimi. (A third drummer played on the four old tracks.) The band’s third album has a playful vibe, while “Well Enough Alone” and a cover of Magnetic Fields’ “Candy” display its growing maturity.
Singer-guitarist Josh Gennet has gone on to record as the Singletons.