Having dropped the "Think And Feels from their original name, Phoenix band What Laura Says decided to recycle those words into the title of their sophomore effort. Thinks and Feels doesnt see them reining in their experimental, scattershot approach and that is likely to both win them fans and scare people off. For example, the opening track, "Couldnt Lose Myself If I Tried, finds itself hopping genres three times during its brief duration in a way that is more admirable than enjoyable. Fortunately the rest of the songs are more focussed, although the band do cover a lot of ground during the 11 tracks, in the vein of the Grateful Dead and their ilk. Still, the overall mood is laidback and folky, with lots of vocal harmonies. They are a playful band and songs usually meander around, apparently without having a distinct path in mind. But they get there in the end and thats the important thing.
(Terpsikhore)What Laura Says
Thinks and Feels
BY Michael EdwardsPublished Sep 28, 2008