The Big Pink — A Brief History Of Love

The Big Pink, comprising Robbie Furve and Milo Cordell, owe their name to The Band's opening bow, but the reference — if intentional — is ironic. The music here isn't rusted roots rock — it's slick, candy-coated, sequenced-beat, club anthems with guitar somewhere between Jesus And Mary Chain and Simian Mobile Disco.

The duo's grand debut comes already replete with the requisite hype and awards from U.K. tastemasters, and it's not completely undeserved. However, while there are a few good songs — and a couple of arguable greats — A Brief History Of Love makes a compelling argument in favour of iTunes 99-cent selections over buying an album.

Positives first: "Dominos" and "Velvet" are really, really well done. The pair of electro-rock tracks are catchier than H1N1, and are accessible, chorus-driven anthems demanding singalongs. The former in particular, its possibly problematic lyrics aside, screams to be used in conjunction with an iPod commercial. Fittingly, a 30-second sample online will tell you all you need to know and help you decide whether this is your thing.

But the rest of the album? Not so much. It's not terrible (although the songs tend to blur together after awhile and the lyrics are left better ignored), but there's no real spark. I can't imagine anyone grabbing someone by the hand, squealing over the DJ's playing of "Golden Pendulum." I can, however, completely see that song (and the rest of the disc) being used as perfectly acceptable background noise for various car commercials targeting the elusive 18-35 crowd.

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