Whatever Happened To Corduroy?

It’d be very easy to use Whatever Happened to Corduroy’s name to rip them apart. I’m just itching with cheesy ideas: "whatever happened to original music?” But it isn’t so easy once you hear the songs that comprise their cute, poppy rock short story; I mean EP. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s nothing brilliant but it’s no surprise they’ve made a home out of Toronto and gained fans from the Cain and Abel and Crush Luther following masses. They have tight sing-alongs with squeaky-clean harmonies, tidy little bridges that sparkle, build and explode, and lyrics that follow a heart-warming, yet startling, story. The roughness and urgency of Trevor Blumas’s vocals give the idea he listened to too much Say Anything and Senses Fail as a kid but now is lost in the three-part harmonies the Beatles perfected. Musically, they have a knack for venturing into experimental, messy grounds ("Faceless Hero”) but before straying too far from the familiar, they head back. Live, their songs are energetic. On this EP, they are just catchy and sometimes adorable.