Garfields Birthday - Let Them Eat Cake

by Malcolm Carter

published: 22 / 6 / 2008

Label: Pink Hedgehog
Format: CD

Timeless-in-sound classic summery pop on fourth album from Weymouth-formed trio, Garfields Birthday

Review

Calling your band Garfields Birthday, your album ‘Let Them Eat Cake’ and releasing it on Pink Hedgehog Records with a cover photo of a forlorn looking guy holding a banana up to his head like a telephone just screams twee and will no doubt put off more potential buyers than it attracts. The fact is that, although at times there is no doubt that there is a certain tweeness about the songs on ‘Let Them Eat Cake’, it would be an injustice to dismiss Garfields Birthday as just another post Sarah band trying to recreate the bubblegum sounds of bands from the past or desperately wanting to be the new Monkees. On ‘We Know Your Name’ the band does a really good Monkees impersonation actually. And there is nothing wrong with that when it is done with such grace and played as well as this. The sunshine sounds of the 60's are shining down over these ten songs. The songs were actually recorded between 2005 and 2007 so have taken some time to be released but in reality they could have been recorded any time during the last 40 odd years. Of course when you are writing and recording songs that are full of those jingle-jangle guitars and harmonies that make the sun shine through even on the rainiest of days you have to face the fact that you are doing nothing new; you’re not going to change the course of music and you’re going to get as many people disliking your music as you will loving it. but it must be said that Garfields Birthday are making all the right noises and for sticking with making music that recalls that of the bands they are so obviously influenced by they deserve a great deal of praise. I actually think that this is the best album of original sunshine pop I’ve heard all year. There are far too many of us who are desperately buying all the so-called lost classics of the 60's which were originally lost and never sold for a good reason; they were never any good to start with. While we are searching for the lost original sounds of our youth we are missing out on bands like Garfields Birthday who are keeping the spirit of the sunshine pop of the 60's alive with their music and doing it with such verve that it’s these bands we should be spending our hard-earned on. Bassist Simon Felton takes all the lead vocals apart from two when brother Shane who also handles guitars extremely well and one James Laming stand up to the mike. Simon also wrote the majority of the songs all of which are catchy, hook-filled slices of sun drenched harmony pop. This is a summer record that won’t fail to lift the dreariest of winter days too ; it’s one of those albums that makes you feel happy to be alive. It’s well played, well produced and the songs stand up to repeated playing. A little ray of sunshine in fact.

Track Listing:-

1 Molly's Eyes
2 Punch & Judy Man
3 Take a Ride
4 We Know Your Name
5 You Should Know Better By Now
6 The Bastion of Teenage
7 Mr Newton
8 Mystery Boy
9 Sugar Pop
10 Cocaine Joe