CD REVIEW: THE BRITANNICAS – High Tea

CD REVIEW: THE BRITANNICAS – High Tea
Better Living Through Science
July 2014
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
7.5/10

With guitars a-jangling and harmonies a-ringing The Britannicas keep one foot in the power poppy now and one in the ‘60s summer of love, concocting a hyper-melodic collection of irresistible pop songs that bop and sway and shimmy their way into your head and hearts instantly.

Comprising American bassist Herb Eimerman, Australian guitarist and singer Joe Algeri and Swedish guitarist and drummer Magnus Karlsson and Stefan Johansson, the Britannicas write and assemble their music with a lot of back and forth emails and Skypeing, but you wouldn’t know it as this – their second album – sounds as cohesive as any band you could name.

There’s touches of Beatledom here and there, especially in the melodies and some of the simpler rhythms (More Like Than Different, I Work At The Post Office, Too Far Gone), a Byrdsy jangle with a pinch of country pop (Talkin’ Bout Summer), and even a sneer and a ragged riff from the Oasis school (The Moment Passed).

A Shag And A Cup Of Tea is Austin Powers-rific, and takes the wilfully-retro theme of the project to it’s logical, quirky zenith with a knowing wink and a cheeky grin.

Category: CD Reviews