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Album Details

• Artist: Scissors For Lefty
• Album: Underhanded Romance
• Label: Rough Trade
• Year of Release: 2006
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: mschmitt on 2007-02-20

Financial advice from Scissors for Lefty? Why not? "Hey hey," they open with in their intro track, "Nickels & Dimes," "Nickels and dimes are all you need to rock tonight." Words of wisdom. Besides being a very cheesy way to open this review, the song also serves as a great introduction for what you’re going to get in Underhanded Romance: pure silliness at its utmost. "Nickels & Dimes" is light and bouncy to say the very least. The floating, quick-and-dirty guitar lines found in the opener are a major feature of the band—and are an excellent aid to the similarly touch-and-go vocals. The San Francisco four-piece (dual brother combos) wrap light-hearted lyrics with wispy instrumentals for a fun and cuddly experience. They’re like puppies without the fur…literally speaking. "Ghetto Ways" is another great example with goofy lyrical lines, a Killers-esque keyboard invasion, and a general mood of head-in-the-clouds fun. The whole thing wonderfully reeks of Bloc Party and The Boy Least Likely To.

Scissors for Lefty wrap a Brit-pop influence in their indie tracks, and it would be very hard to guess that these boys are from San Francisco. The upbeat-on-the-edge-of-scary "Mama Your Boys Will Find A Home" features twisting lyrics and an explosively pop chorus, which I suppose can be said of just about any song on the album. However, Underhanded Romance almost never gets repetitive and is a genuinely interesting listen. Most of all though, it is a purely silly album with damnably catchy melodies. The instrumentals and lyrics are light-hearted, summer-like, and well-written. A strong album from Scissors for Lefty that would be a good investment for your nickels and dimes.

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