Review Summary: Smartly written, beautifully arranged pop music. What's not to like?
I think I have a thing for albums like this. Even as an ever-so-present combination of grandiose string arrangements and too-clever-by-half lyrics cleave close to what could be considered "precious", I still assert my faith in the album and keep listening, just as I did with, say, Sufjan Steven's (who, indeed, makes an appearance here) ambitious
Illinois. As I have learned again and again, this type of endurance pays off in the end; soon, Clare and the Reasons'
The Movie's flaws slowly fade under its numerous strengths.
For one, the album is tightly written: "Rodi" is perhaps the best example of Clare's lilting hooks (carried strongly by her gorgeously baby-like voice), as well as the group's love of background vocals and complex string arrangements. Elsewhere, we have "Pluto", the lovely opener that cleverly serves as a love letter to the recently-demoted Pluto ("Pluto I have some frightful news dear / in the New York Times / They've just reported you've been overthrown / from your solar throne for good").
However, it all comes together beautifully on "Alphabet City", the achingly beautiful love song that serves as the album's centerpiece. Much like the rest of the album, the song contains more of Clare's intelligent and romantic musings and larger-than-life production, but its various crescendos and harmonies push it above the rest. The positives of the song are much like the positives of the album as a whole: it may seem a little cheesy, but to deny it of its power would be the equivalent of being the guy who calls out all of the little inconsistencies in a children's movie. Please, for everyone's sake: don't be that guy.
