The Apples in Stereo - Velocity of Sound (2002)

Related:

Marbles - Marbles (1993)

The Apples in Stereo - Science Faire (1996)

The Apples in Stereo - Her Wallpaper Reverie (1999)

It's been long enough since my last post that it feels like I should acknowledge it. But chances are, you didn't really notice, and if you did, you probably assumed that I was doing Christmas stuff, which I was. East coast family Christmas stuff. And now I'm back, and I want to give you something sweet before this cursed year of 2021 comes to a close.

So here's Velocity of Sound, the closest that The Apples in Stereo ever came to making a punk record. The instantly memorable hooks remain, but instead of ornate arrangements, fuzz guitar reigns, with the distortion often bleeding over into the vocals, underlining a surprising link between The Apples in Stereo -- whose most obvious influence has always been The Beatles -- and the joyfully simplistic songs of The Ramones. It's also kind of a breakup record, and the breakup in question is between frontman Robert Schneider and drummer Hilarie Sidney, who also sings lead on album highlights "Rainfall" and "I Want". The album's not billed as such, but most of its songs seem to address a strained romantic relationship, and the two divorced shortly hereafter. Bitter lyrics and sugary tunes: the classic power pop combo.

Happy New Year to you all. Please, please, please let this year be better than the last.

Track listing:

1. Please

2. Rainfall

3. That's Something I Do

4. Do You Understand?

5. Where We Meet

6. Yore Days

7. Better Days

8. I Want

9. Mystery

10. Baroque

11. She's Telling Lies (Bryce's Mix)

I just wanna have a secret or two

Also listen to:

Beulah - Handsome Western States (1997)

Elf Power - When the Red King Comes (1997)