Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Christina Vantzou - No. 4 about 18 hours ago
  • The Fangasm: The Midnight Organ Fight by Frightened Rabbit about 20 hours ago
  • Laura Veirs - The Lookout 2 days ago
  • Eels - The Deconstruction 2 days ago
  • A Place To Bury Strangers - Pinned 2 days ago
  • "I am fascinated by art that asks a lot of questions": DiS Meets Jenny Wilson 2 days ago
  • Planet Gear: Erland Cooper 3 days ago
  • Evolution and Equilibrium: DiS Meets Wye Oak 4 days ago
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

Prince Edward Island

This Day is a Good Enough Day

Label: Sea Monkey Do Monkey Release Date: 29/08/2011

78692
Rudiger_Mund by Andrew Kennedy August 26th, 2011

The London based, Scottish fronted Prince Edward Island are unabashed Chemikal Underground disciples who formed after listening to the label’s impressive roster. Therefore it is no surprise that they share common ground with some of those artists. In their own words they sound like 'A poppier Aidan Moffat.' If you were to describe PEI to aliens that had just landed on Earth, this would be a suitable comparison (fingers crossed our little green friends have heard of Arab Strap).

Not that there’s anything wrong with wearing your influences on your sleeve, but referencing Arab Strap within the first 30 seconds of the album could be considered unnecessary, if not slightly sycophantic. No doubt if given the opportunity they’d dress up in Mr Moffat’s skin so they could walk around town stroking his beard. There’s a fine line between appreciation and a restraining order, and by teetering on that precipice so publicly PEI do themselves a disservice.

It’d be inaccurate to dismiss PEI merely as a cheap parody act. This Day Is A Good Enough Day is beguiling and filled with surprises. Don’t get me wrong - there are lulls, and a penchant for including annoying backing vocals from Buggles. Yet these sticking points are compensated with some quality songs.

The slightly distorted vocal effect make it sound like Darren Bruce is literally phoning his performance in. Lyrics are frank and honest, focusing on kitchen sink dramas that Mike Leigh might direct. Bleak evocative stories, “Look what two years with a dickhead has done to your face, look what these weekends of thinking have done to your waist”

Thankfully it’s not all ditties about domestic abuse. There is gallows humour throughout, most obviously in song titles like ‘You Look Like I Need a Drink’ and ‘Sex in the Morning (I’m Coughing You’re Moaning)’. Also, presumably having read the Do’s and Do Not Do’s of being a Scottish Singer, they use swearing as a form of punctuation. “We don’t need to talk things over, you’re not my fucking social worker” from ‘Like Bouncers We Stand’ being a fine example.

That song also showcases the band’s love of soaring guitar solos that ape British Sea Power. ‘I’ve Been To A City’ and ‘Are Your Mother-in-law and Your Mother in Love?’ sound like they are from Mull Historical Society’s debut (this is a compliment). Quality quirky wonky pop music. ‘I’ve Been To A City’ is so far removed from the darker themes of this album that it is almost commercial. The record finishes with arguably the standout track ‘The Keith Disaster Fund’. A soaring climax pieced together with more blunt lyrics from the kitchen sink - “Lifetime achievement award, blood in my piss from the drinks that I stored with the friends who don’t know who I am”

This Day Is A Good Enough Day is a weird mix. You’re never too sure what is around the corner. A nice discovery from left field that is well worth a shot.

  • 7
    Andrew Kennedy's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Christina Vantzou

    No. 4


  • The Fangasm: The Midnight Organ Fight by Frightened Rabbit


  • Laura Veirs

    The Lookout


  • Eels

    The Deconstruction


  • A Place To Bury Strangers

    Pinned


  • "I am fascinated by art that asks a lot of questions": DiS Meets Jenny Wilson



Left-arrow

Tinariwen

Tassili

Mobback
78688
78690

Sam Duckworth

The Mannequin

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    review


    Christina Vantzou - No. 4

  • 105534
  • Column


    The Fangasm: The Midnight Organ Fight by Fright...

  • 105533

    review


    Laura Veirs - The Lookout

  • 105532
  • review


    Eels - The Deconstruction

  • 105531

    review


    A Place To Bury Strangers - Pinned

  • 105530
  • Interview


    "I am fascinated by art that asks a lot of ques...

  • 105529

    Planet Gear


    Planet Gear: Erland Cooper

  • 105528
  • Interview


    Evolution and Equilibrium: DiS Meets Wye Oak

  • 105527
MORE


    feature


    A Month in Records: August 2008

  • 33467
  • review


    Coldplay - Ghost Stories

  • 95631

    review


    Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

  • 7335
  • feature


    Cursive - Six Recorded Highlights

  • 45147

    review


    Sonic Youth - Nurse

  • 6044
  • review


    Kate Nash - Made Of Bricks

  • 26283

    DiScover


    DiScover: Friendly Fires

  • 93726
  • news


    DiS curates the #IndependentMusicMonday Playlist

  • 101788
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2018 DROWNED IN SOUND