The Rosebuds

What we have here is an interesting development, but not necessarily an improvement. The trajectory of the Rosebuds is one that has many curves and spills. Their debut, The Rosebuds Make Out, was an inoffensive and insignificant pop record that missed the mark it was aiming for. Their follow-up, Birds Make Good Neighbors, however, picked up the slack and (in my eyes) won them honours for "most improved band” of 2005. The ability of couple Kelly Crisp and Ivan Howard to work their romance into some dreamy, hook-heavy indie rock revealed the makings of a great partnership that left listeners on cloud nine. Night of the Furies takes this groundwork and adds the hearty dance floor rhythms that Saint Etienne ruled the UK charts with in the early ’90s. Trouble is, the way the Rosebuds utilise them they sound stuck in a sketchy Danish nightclub circa 1993. "I Better Run” is Euro trash schlock that uses Crisp’s monotone vocals (the weaker of the two) to make matters worse, while the beats on "Hold On To This Coat” are far past their expiration date. Thankfully, the band from 2005 are still alive in this club-geared mess. "Cemetery Lawns” is one of their best moments to date, hitting those warm, fuzzy melodies impeccably, and even "Get Up Get Out,” a dead ringer for a Pet Shop Boys banger, is hard not to adore. It’s still a little flabbergasting to accept their newfound fascination with a dying club culture but maybe the Rosebuds just work better with even numbers. Fingers crossed for album four.