Review Summary: the sound of pop music from Sobs! :)
Sobs bring nothing but joy. The Singaporean trio’s new album is called
Air Guitar, as indicated by the cover art. The cover art also states “the sound of pop music from Sobs!”, because they just bring that much joy. Rather than fully retreading the adorable jangle pop of the band’s first two projects, this record stretches the carefree vibes and
jangle even further while continuously asking
what if?.
What if ‘Friday Night’ suddenly trades the bubbly indie pop of its first half for an equally sugary breakbeat? What if ‘Dealbreaker’ subtly adds all the bleeps and bloops the band could get their hands on to a wonderfully crunchy dream pop song? What if the full album is 29 minutes long but the bonus track ‘Cool’ stands tall as its spaciest and vibiest track? The approximate answer to all of
Air Guitar’s what ifs is something along the lines of ‘heck yeah! :)’. This is the sound of pop music from Sobs, and it is cute and nice and pleasant.
However,
Air Guitar’s best surprise comes in the form of ‘Burn Book’. Right in the middle of an incredible three-track drem run, Sobs appear to ask “what if we write the
bestest pop?”. The answer is, in fact, the bestest pop. ‘Burn Book’ is surprisingly straightforward and energetic, yet every bit as pleasant and carefree as everything else on this record. It’s nice! It’s the sound of pop music from Sobs!
