Album Details

• Artist: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
• Album: Pershing
• Label: Polyvinyl
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: kev_stev on 2008-08-15

After their critically acclaimed debut, Broom, and a relatively overlooked EP, tediously-named indie rockers Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin return with their second full-length from Polyvinyl, Pershing.  Noticeably lacking the intimate, lo-fi connection that Broom charmed it listeners with, Pershing offers the band’s further foray into sunny, 60’s influenced, indie-pop, emphasizing improved vocal clarity and stronger pop hooks than on its predecessor.

Opener “Glue Girls” begins Pershing with great potential, as poppy guitar riffs and lyrics based around (you guessed it) girls make for an anthemic, catchy chorus that screams summer road trip potential.  Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin make a bold statement on this first track; they are clearly not The Shins, as so many critics penned them—if anything, they are a modern rendition of the early Beach Boys, which is best shown through their identifiably melodic bass lines.  This change sounds effective on “Glue Girls,” but it falls flat on songs like “Boring Fountain,” which sounds far too similar to superficial, banal radio-rock with its extremely accessible guitar lines and lack of contrasting instrumentation.

After spinning Pershing, it becomes evident that Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin experimented with many melodies during the album’s recording, resulting in a handful of hit-or-miss tracks.  Songs like “Modern Mystery” hone the band’s best aspects: an identifiable, instantly accessible foot-tapping melody, dominating bass lines, and a chorus that builds toward a poppy crescendo of “woahs.”  However, Pershing also holds snoozers like “Some Constellation,” a disappointing acoustic reversion of Elliott Smith’s “Fond Farewell,” which, obviously, cannot compare to the glimmering talent of Smith.  Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin’s second album is thus moderately successful, but, perhaps more importantly, leaves them teetering in a precarious position somewhere between a group with a lo-fi, indie cult-status and a superficial, overblown radio band.  Where they will take their music is somewhat frightening, as their warm and winsome acoustics from Broom may be a story of the past.

User Reviews and Comments

on 2008-09-15 kev_stev Said:

If you like this album, I think you'd really like "Broom." It's much more of a cohesive effort, imo.
Not Rated

on 2008-09-15 dscanland Said:

Pershing has been in my "To Listen" playlist for ages! I finally got around to listening to it and have found a new favorite pop band. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin have a great knack for crafting pop songs.
Rating: 8/10