Altsounds - What Laura Says - Thinks and Feels [Album]

Having neither seen nor heard this five-piece from Tempe, Arizona, I am an objective listener of their latest album ‘Thinks and Feels’. The band is What Laura Says and hey, I like that, “What Laura Says, Thinks and Feels”; fun. The album says a lot about these five long-haired lads, mainly sporting their originality and cool song-writing and arranging skills. They combine a lot of styles and textures, like stride piano, 60s disco, rag-time, gospel, scratching, electric guitar riffs and plenty of falsetto vocals. All these and more combine to form beautiful contrasts and layers to the band’s sound. They clearly draw from classic boy bands of old, like The Beatles and Beach Boys. I especially like the humour that ‘What Laura Says’ put into their vocals. It’s not found in the lyrics so much as the interesting sounds that are sometimes even silly, although in a good way. Check out ‘Couldn’t Lose Myself If I Tried’ and the harmonies in ‘Wish I Could Fly’. Also keep an ear out for the cool, dreamy atmosphere they create so effectively on a few of the songs, like ‘Waves’ and ‘Done What’s Right’. They like changing the feel at the drop of a hat on ‘Illustrated Manual’. This sounds a bit unsteady to me sometimes, but I can easily forgive them for that. My favourite song on the album is ‘Dot Dot Dot’, (sigh) beautiful and mellow and lovely.

Overall the Beatle-esque arrangements and distinctive vocals and harmonies on 'Thinks and Feels' draws you into What Laura Says’ unpredictable songs, all eleven of them. The main reason I liked this album is because it offers an experience; I feel like What Laura Says are in my lounge room with me and I was in on the jokes. This is probably because they take you behind the scenes a little; it’s a deliberately imperfect edit and I like that personal quality it brings to the album. I smile to myself, get goose bumps and laugh out loud on my own on more than one occasion. 'Thinks and Feels' definitely makes me want to see What Laura Says live: If their music is anything to judge by, I bet these guys put on a great show. Great songs, unique sound and super funny.

http://www.myspace.com/whatlaurasaysthinksandfeels