NPR.org, July 1, 2008 - Listen to the new album from the rock group, Derby and you\'d swear they hail from Britain. The Portland, Ore.-based band draws heavily on BritPop and classic sounds of past British invasions on their latest CD — their second — Posters Fade. The influence of bands like The Beatles is impossible to miss, but the group leans more towards homage than imitation. The album stands as a catalog of Brit Rock stylings from the last forty years, all filtered through an American band looking back in awe.
The melody on the opening track \"Why Don\'t You Do It\" has the same eastern-inspired tonality as much of the fab four\'s later material, and the track\'s whirl of reverb-heavy guitars and ambient noises delve into late \'60s psychedelia. Immediately following that foray into feedback is \"All Or Nothing,\" a tightly written, \'80s dance-pop song complete with hand-clapping and infectious, sugary sweet \"ooh-wha-oh\" phrase endings.
From the slammed chords and squealing lead guitar that open the title track, \"Posters Fade,\" it\'s not hard to imagine the song as a \'70s rock anthem. Instead, the track evolves into an upbeat, neatly packaged pop song, with a very catchy melody. Following that, \"Stumps\" offers beautiful, three-part vocal harmonies set over simple strings and a softly picked acoustic guitar, ala early \'60s folk.
The record\'s pacing is its greatest strength. Oscillating between upbeat rockers and slower, more intimate folk tracks, the album successfully navigates the immense musical terrain the band traverses. Derby has drawn a stylistic thread through decades of music, and the result is an album that is familiar yet unique, and popular while remaining artful.
allmusic Review
Oddly, Derby hail not from the English town of the same name but from Portland, Oregon; odd because their sound is so quintessentially English. Head over heels in love with the British Invasion, on Posters Fade, their sophomore set, the group resurrect in all its pert, melody rich glory. And melodies are the key to this set, the cheerful kind one can sing along with after the first couple of lines, and mostly set to rhythms that will send you hopping across the floor in delight. The first single, \"All or Nothing\" is a case in point, BritPop with a twist, as a New Order styled rhythm courses right over a Jam-ish number. \"Michigan\" also has an Order-ed edge, but tied to a more indie styled song. \"As My Own\" goes with the indie sound, but blends it with late \'60s rock, while the title track is a glam-stomper, but hustled right back to the \'60s. The Kinks are Derby\'s most obvious influence, with the set opener \"Why Don\'t You Do It\" an homage to their Muswell Hillbilly period, while \"Stop Stalling\" pays tribute to their earlier sound. But The Beatles, too, play their part, leaving their most notable mark on \"Stumps\", one of a handful of downbeat numbers found on the set. And whether psychedelic doused or tinged with a Western flavor, these moodier songs deftly break up the set, and balance the band\'s otherwise bright and perky sound. Still, it\'s the up-tempo numbers like the garage-y \"Streetlight\", \"Stalling,\" \"Posters,\" and the grandiosity of \"Own,\" that will garner instant attention. As will the band\'s sharp lyrics, interpersonal themes, and frequent mentions of bears, apparently a metaphor for the more gruffer and unpleasant side of women. Smart pop for the masses.
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