Another controversy-inspiring Still Life review:

(http://www.wallofsound.com/reviews/stories/3552_36index.html)

The Connells
Still Life
Label: TVT
Genre: Rock/Pop
File Under: Jangle all the way

  Don't pity the Connells. Sure, they may have been tagged as wimpy rockers
when their first record came out, but that was 13 years ago already. Face it,
these North Carolina jangle-rockers are still going strong, while many of
their more blustery contemporaries have long since become hardware clerks,
auto mechanics, or CPAs, depending on their particular vocational disposition.
On Still Life, the Connells' seventh album, the guitars sport a bit more edge,
but Doug MacMillan's vocals still sound weak in spots, and about half the
songs, though pleasant enough, could benefit from additional melodic or
harmonic tension. Curiously, though, this 13-song album gets better as it goes
along, with the best (and most offbeat) cuts coming near the end not exactly a
marketing man's dream.
Looking for a hit single? Track 11, "Gonna Take a Lie," is a killer slice of
organ-fueled power-pop with a Tom Petty bent. "Circlin'," which precedes it,
uses a falsetto harmony vocal to create a Stones-y "Beast of Burden" sound,
while "Queen of Charades" comes off like a great lost Nick Lowe tune. And
"Pedro Says," the instrumental closer, sends the listener off into an oddly
Cure-influenced dreamland. Earlier on, the CD gets bogged down by too much by-
the-numbers pop material, although "Curly's Train" hearkens nicely to the
Monkees' country-ish material, and the title track provides an eloquent
defense of stylistic steadfastness clearly an important concern for the band.
While others continue to chase yesterday's trends, the Connells have managed
to maintain their sound and their following.
 Bob Remstein

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