When indie-pop hits right, it really hits right, and The Submarines did so in 2008 with "You, Me & The Bourgeoisie", whose sweet sound found itself soundtracking an iPhone ad. While the Los Angeles duo didn’t quite reach the heights of Feist (QRO live review), "Bourgeoisie" and its album Honeysuckle Weeks did significantly raise their profile. Follow-up Love Notes/Letter Bombs doesn’t ever hit quite as right, and suffers from a thinness that pervades indie-pop, but is a more balanced record.
There’s a nice beat and catch throughout Love Notes, from opener "Shoelaces" to closer "Anymore", even if The Submarines don’t extremely expand beyond that and their bright nature. The pair is better when brighter & bigger – "The Sun Shines At Night" could be a Submarines anthem, while "Tigers" sees them grow and "A Satellite, Stars and an Ocean Behind You" is an altogether better done Submarines. Contrastingly, the sadder fare such as "Ivaloo" and "Birds" aren’t really sad enough to stand out – The Submarines don’t really ‘do’ sad.
John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard don’t reinvent the wheel – or anything else – on Love Notes/Letter Bombs. The record is pretty much what you expected their new record would be, catchy and bright – but it’s very catchy and bright.
MP3 Stream: "A Satellite, Stars and an Ocean Behind You"
