Much like I strive to live every week like it’s Shark Week, I may start to live every day like it’s “Picture Day.” I’m in love with the title of Picture Day’s new six-song EP, Every Day Is Picture Day. I’ve been having philosophical discussions in my head about what exactly that means, and that’s part of the reason I love it (it wasn’t just the title that had me in love with their choice of words, their lyrics are good as well.) This is the second EP for the St. Louis-based band (not to be confused with the Colorado band by the same name.)
This record brought up many comparisons to bands that were in their heydays in the 1990s, you can hear the definite modern rock influence throughout the album. Every Day Is Picture Day packs plenty of guitar riffs in its brief running-time, the combination of soft, accessible pop-rock and big riffs reminded me of Weezer. In fact, “Happens Daily” seemed like a cross between 311 and Weezer. “Madoline,” the opening track, had some influence of Elvis Costello and a slight country twang. “Long Division” reminded me of both R.E.M. and the much more recent Matt Mays and El Torpedo. Each song has a different style, but each clearly has classic alternative influences. If you find yourself jonesing for the “retro lunch hour” on your favorite alternative station, this album might do the trick.
As mentioned earlier, the lyrics on this album are quite clever. “Madoline” has allusions to a relationship being a theatrical production. “Long Division,” my stand-out song, is the pinnacle of the great writing. First off, I love that they used the term long division as a way to describe a slow, gradual break-up complete with passive-aggressive anger (how did no one dub that “long division” before now?) The words perfectly sum up the feelings of betrayal and simmering anger. Lines like “When I say that you’re forgiven, can you live with it?” capture all of the mind games that can go on in a messy breakup. Though the lyrics are angsty, the song is still smooth and pretty. Even the crashing cymbals, which could denote anger, sound shimmery. As Tyra Banks would put it on America’s Next Top Model, it’s angry-pretty (it gets the anger across while still being beautiful.)
This is a well-made EP with hints of classic pop-rock. Now we fans of 20-something-year-old pop-rock just have to hope that the band can record more than six songs for their next album.
Rating: 7.4/10
MP3: Picture Day “Long Division”
Buy: iTunes
