No Frills Reviews

The wide-eyed sweetness of Phil Spector girl-groups meets the wild-eyed garage rock psychedelia you’d uncover on a Nuggets compilation.

The Courettes aka Danish/Brazilian husband and wife duo Martin and Flavia Couri are an undoubted throwback to a bygone era. There’s always a risk that a band that relies so heavily on the past can end up too close to pastiche, but what The Courettes do so well is capture the rawness and innocence of their influences as a vehicle to deliver unfiltered expressions of emotion.

Now on their fourth album, they’ve gradually evolved from a more frantic punk sound, slowly incorporating more doo wop and pop stylings. Here, they even have a 60’s original in tow as The Crystals’ La La Brooks pops up with some guest vocals. They’re at the point where they can almost perfectly recreate the sounds of their favourite records; Boom Boom Boom and Run Run Runaway in particular are like lost Spector-produced classics. While California is a slice of bittersweet surf pop, as dreams of sun-soaked adventure get lost amidst lovesick yearning.

Look at the album cover and you’ll see The Courettes project an image of monochrome cool, but it’s their contrast of light and dark that really helps set them apart from simple revivalism. The opener, You Woo Me is a prime example of their merger of scuzzy garage riffs with hook-heavy pop sensibilities. And while Flavia can comfortably take the old-school girl group role as a symbol of lovestruck naivety, she demonstrates she has far more range than just that. From the sultry seductress that opens the album, to the worn-down wronged lover of Don’t Want You Back, to the street-smart realist that emerges later. Across the album, a layered character develops as you ride the emotional rollercoaster of a failed relationship. Lyrically, they very much paint in broad strokes, but it feels timeless rather than cliché. Not everything immediately registers amongst the sugar sweet hooks; but the to-the-point simplicity of lines like “I got so many dreams unfulfilled in my head” can be sneakily devastating.

The Courettes may look to the past for inspiration, but pop songs about heartbreak will never go out of style. Especially when they sound this good.

Best Tunes: You Woo Me, California, Don’t Want You Back, Boom Boom Boom

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