Lookyloos

When it comes to album titles, this is going to be very hard to top. The rather unwieldily title is actually an Oscar Wilde quote, but rather than wallow in the expected literary pretentiousness, the band prefer to bask in the world of classic indie-pop, circa '86 and the much lauded but rarely heard roster of New Zealand's Flying Nun label. That makes for a lot of jangly guitars and detached vocals, and they do such of good job that it sounds like the album could have come out any time in the last 15 years. That might have something to do with the fact that it took the band six years to finish recording this album, but it definitely isn't a huge problem. At times, Janssen's vocals are reminiscent of Stephen Pastel's, not so much following the melody as remaining in the proximity of it. Not that he doesn't possess the ability to let loose if he needs to (which he does on "Enchanted"), it's just that equally effective to show restraint. Perhaps The Most Satisfying... might not offer anything particularly new or exciting, but the Lookyloos do a rather impressive job of making something plain, simple and enjoyable.