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Stills Logic Will Break Your Heart

The Stills: Logic Will Break Your Heart

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by Gareth Dobson
Tired of hearing about the new indie revolution yet? Not sure who’s leading what charge and who’s got the flag? Or is it all in the critic’s heads? Be wary, very wary of whom you trust when it comes to matters of music.

Of course, that’s all bunk really, it comes down to bands and records; judged only by themselves on their own merits. However, it’d be nice if there was another golden age of reverb and introspection, if only to remove the jagged shards of distressed denim from our wounded hearts.

Cycles, it’s all cycles, and that indeed is ‘Logic Will Break Your Heart’ in a perpetual motion nutshell. Heartbreak, darkness, disgust, redemption, heartbreak darkness, disgust, short-lived redemption. Repeat. Repeat.

It’s not a pretty record; while of course, being at times a very pretty record. Grandiose and majestic are probably the oft repeated words, and that doesn’t surprise, with influences anchored by the sounds of Echo & The Bunnymen, Joy Division and all manner of twenty-year old bands that I won’t condescend you by mentioning. I haven’t heard of them either. Embedded in a self-regarding mausoleum of reverb, ‘Logic…’ coldly croons of a world that’s left the warm-hearted behind, of a life beset by misery, much of it caused by affairs of the heart. Ah, the girls. What hope for a band who intently inform you how “the girl will screw you”, with all that’s left being “suicide dreams” (all set nicely to hefty sounds and metronomic peals of guitar in ‘The Gender Bomb’). Of course, misanthropy is the common bedfellow of misogyny. The otherwise fantastically uplifting ‘Changes Are No Good’ informs us that “I am a weekday on weekends/I hate my best friends”, whilst the excellent ‘Love and Death’ steams along on a New Order bassline, synced with the not-so-cheery observation “don't bother counting on me / loving me / just stand back I'm gone”.

But it’s not all self-hatred and internal barbed wire. There’s a song on there about candyfloss and walks in the park. No, of course there isn’t. And why should there be? The Stills are a sad band. Which 9 times out of 10 makes them better than happy bands. Warped logic? Have you seen the world out there? You’re reading an online review of a band that has sold not too many more than dick-all records to the population at large. I’m kind of assuming that you’re not a Cheeky Girls fan. You know the score. We need sad-bastard indie records like we need big overcoats in the eternal winters of our soul. Even better when they’re very good sad-bastard indie records.

And ‘Logic..’ most definitely is that. It may not be the best, but then again, it’s treading plastic spheres in the ball-pool of bands like the aforementioned Bunnymen and Joy Division, plus of course The Smiths and Radiohead. Not falling on its backside is achievement enough. Songs like the jittery Blondie-disco of ‘Still In Love Song’, all delusional defiance, storm the cider-stained dance floors of our bedrooms magnificently, while ‘Lets Roll’ reaches for the sky, belying the fact that singer Tim Fletcher is suffering from some sort of slo-mo chest implosion.

Pain and self-disregard, being surrounded in your bedroom by 47 Snickers wrappers and full of self loathing as your elbows drip with blood is a fine thing. These are strong emotions. That’s why we have records made about them. That’s why you buy them. Another heartbreak to add to the shopping list.

  • The Stills 8 / 10

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

yes, amazing review for an amazing album also!

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

I really love this record. I've not actually seen any hype for them - just a lot of posters and the video on mtv2. The album really speaks to me, maybe it's the 'wanna get out of this town' feel or the sense of staring at oblivion but worrying about missing watching it on tv. I dunno. It just feels comforting to know that with what's in my head and how i feel, i'm not alone.

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

"with influences anchored by the sounds of Echo & The Bunnymen, Joy Division and all manner of twenty-year old bands that I won’t condescend you by mentioning. I haven’t heard of them either"

this is one of the most intelligent, self-aware and honests album reviews i've ever read. which ultimately makes it much more accurate and trustworthy. all music journalism should be written like this.

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

Nice work Gareth.

When I heard "Lola..." on the radio I was totally smitten. That huge drumbeat, the wall of guitars, the lazy vocals and lilting melodies. I thought "This is gorgeous and what I've been waiting for".

Then I bought the album and I have to admit to being a little disappointed. For me, Lola is by far the standout track and I find many other songs have an edge of cheese-easy-listening. I read a review saying that some of the tunes on this album could easily be slipped into the playlist at your local gym inbetween Bryan Adams and the Spin Doctors, and I can see what their saying.

Certain moments are too pedestrian soft rock and 'safe' for my ears. But this is just a question of personal taste.

In saying that, the songs are working their way into my head and pop in there at random moments, and I shouldn't be so hard on them when basically they are refreshing angst guitar pop (and a cut above most) - I'm sure it's just that I have darker tatses...!

Re: The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

Decent review!

Its not a bad record. Love and Death was the standout track, I thought. They remind me a lot of Interpol, but seem a bit less stark, much easier to listen to.

Re: The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

You know, I'd heard the Interpol comparisons and that was something that got me interested. I LOVE Interpol and their album has been on my turntable eversince it come out - I just don't grow tired of it.

For me, there is some similarity between Interpol & the Stills in terms of aural aesthetics, but Interpol are much darker and urgent with less of a radio-friendly commercial sheen. For these reasons, I find them infinitely more enjoyable. In my opinion there is absolutely no filler on Turn On the Bright Lights - every song is incredible.

For me, Logic Will Break Your Heart is a good record, containing some great songs but with too many throwaway tracks.

Re: The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

I completely agree with you about Turn On The Bright Lights. It truly is an amazing album. I like The Stills, but to me they are a poor man's Interpol.

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

for me its a great album, at first i thought lola... was the only decent tune on there but i gave it some time and it really grew on me. 'changes are no good' and 'love and death' are absolute crackers

Re: The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

I'm having difficulty getting used to it. At the moment I can only pick out 3 good songs, but then I've only listened 3 times so far.

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

I don't have any qualms. I've never read a review before that actually makes me want to buy an album without even hearing one song.

But I do trust DiS... sometimes :>

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

One of the best reviews I've read on this site to one of the best album's I've ever heard.

Just....why did you only give it 4 out of 5 then?

Re: The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

urgh. album's. bad grammar. sorry.

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

great review, i especially like the self-digging,

'We need sad-bastard indie records like we need big overcoats in the eternal winters of our soul.'

very arty on the right level, no rules, yet no pretention. score!

mike

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

yeah, it's one of the best reviews i've read. spot on!

i cant really see the interpol comparison. i know they sound like lots of stuff i've heard before. but i cant work out specifically who it is they sound like, its very annoying...

they remind me of idlewild, but all bands i really like remind me of idlewild.

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

Yeah a great album with a nice review too!

'Still In Love Song' was possibly my favourite song of last year so the rest of the album sounded a little flat the first time I heard it but it has really grown on me now. Everyone should give it a try...

TERRIBLE review

Again, you all write these reviews as if you have massacred 14 birds and ate their shit. It is a sad state of affairs when you mark such a tedious pile of drivel as this with such high marks.

You might as well record the sound of overweight elephants vomiting after ingesting 33 litres of petrol. You might as well tape record 3 police officers beating the living crap out of eachother. You might as well tape the sound of this website being shut down forever. All of these things would be highly entertaining and offer much more excitement than this crusty pile is plastic they call a "Stills Compact Disc".

Again, you're completely wrong, dull, out of sync, trendy, and completely uncreative.....and:

RUBBISH

Re: TERRIBLE review

I think "mastagon" is a plant from DiS put here to brighten up the messageboards.

If not, it's a shame: he/she/it has become a parody of himself/herself/itself.

Ah well...

Re: TERRIBLE review

s/he does make me laugh though - from the sheer volume of posts we can tell it is a bit of a wind up.

Re: TERRIBLE review

thing about it is...most insults to bands/albums come from people without e-mail addresses or DiS IDs. this isn't for anonymity. it's just so no-one finds out they don't actually like any bands, or music at all.

Re: TERRIBLE review

We're making user accounts compulsory for messageboard posting VERY soon. :)

Re: TERRIBLE review

brilliant comeback though.














For a mong.

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

I'm going to join everyone else and say amazing review.
Gender Bombs is my favourite, I think

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

people have low standards. i'll be damned if we need ANOTHER dreary indie band. i'll be damned if 'We need sad-bastard indie records like we need big overcoats in the eternal winters of our soul' isn't pretentious. damn me, damn you!


The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

I think, as the review intro hints: it's not really about what we or the music industry need, it's about bands and records.

This album impressed me with it's fluency and downbeat tack, and it worked for me on a superficial level.

I still can't get my head around the Interpol comparison though, as Interpol are much darker, as others have said above.

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

I don't get 'em. At all. At least I don't get the single.

There's a lovely big guitar sound, but underneath there is the most average, boring indie song which has absolutely nothing remarkable about it whatsoever, sung in a very boring way. Maybe the album's better, I dunno, but I aint parting with my money to find out.

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

As far as I can tell (saw their Reading set, heard Still In Love Song - admittedly I'm no expert) it seems their production is better than their songs. They bore me I'm afraid, and I'm a massive Interpol fan.

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

Listening to the album stream, I can say it takes a good two runs before the album really feels like a good FIT.

But damn, once it does . . .

Effing brilliant.

"Please sir, can I have some more?"

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

one of the nicest albums i've heard. i can't say its the best, original or anything that will put them in a pedestal.. because they arent the best, they arent the most original of the bunch. it's all on a personal level, how their songs affect me. yes... i am a sad bastard. and i feast on sad bastard music like this. lovely review.




© DrownedinSound.com | From the Archive - Singles Round-up (21/04/08)