Sharp Pins - Balloon Balloon Balloon (CD)

Fall in Love again with Balloon Balloon Balloon.

Submission. That’s the word that comes to mind when tasked with spending time on the overwhelming pop planet that belongs to Kai Slater’s Sharp Pins. The universe only works when you submit: submit to love, submit to rock music. Submission to the power that comes from a kid wielding his guitar to craft impeccable guitar pop that stands in a pantheon of idols he joins with this record.

Of course it makes sense to be mad at first. Everyone was mad at Big Star for getting too close to the Beatles. And everyone will be mad at Sharp Pins for doing the same and then adding Guided by Voices into the mix. How dare he? The hubris. What 20 year old thinks they can out Robert Pollard the man himself?

Pollard and Chilton, and the Byrds too, or the Temptations, the Four Tops, and every other artist trying to nail true love to tape. He employs the “asking for forgiveness not permission” tactic when tasked with borrowing from these greats, our only option is to forgive Slater for giving us these gems of rock n roll propelling it from the past into a future so melodiously flawless, yet jagged and sincere, we can’t help but thank him too for rescuing the genre from irrelevance.

Because what Slater adds is entirely his own. An ineffable songwriting sensibility, that despite the heavy borrowing, can only be his. By the end of the album, you swallow whatever anger or incredulity you may have had and accept that yes, the Sharp Pins really are that good. 

Tracklist:
1. Popafangout
2. I Don't Have The Heart
3. I Could Find Out
4. Queen of Globes and Mirrors
5. (I Wanna) Be Your Girl
6. Gonna Learn To Crawl
7. Balloon 1
8. I Don't Adore-Youo
9. All the Prefabs
10. Talking In Your Sleep
11. Fall In Love Again
12. Serene Haus of Hair
13. (In A While) You'll Be Mine
14. Balloon 2
15. Ex-Priest / In a Hole of a Home
16. Takes So Long
17. Stop to Say Hello
18. All The Shops and Stores Are Closing Now
19. Maria Don't
20. Crown of Thorns
21. Balloon 3