I sometimes feel bad when I use reference points for modern artists that have been dug up from decades past. But it’s not that I am in any way saying that they might be backwards glancing or behind the times in their thinking. It is more that as fashions and fads move on, and the music becomes, in my opinion, more formulaic and less adventurous, at least in the sector controlled by record companies and revenues, spreadsheets and unit-shifting, without naming names or pointing to any past bands in particular, the music which appeals to me most remind me of better times.
That is certainly what I love about Mary Strand in general and Act As If in particular. It is one of those neat cross-overs, a song seemingly built of a gentle rock drive but also imbued with pop accessibility. A song that spins and spirals with a jangle-pop sound, which oozes authenticity and both sways seductively and grooves like a mother-flipper!
And that is the sweet point, isn’t it? Pop music with personality, poise and purpose meets rock music built of space, understatement and restraint—a meeting of musical minds, the best of both worlds and a killer song.
