Bishop Allen: The Broken String

Bishop Allen
& The Broken String
Dead Oceans

To their credit, Brooklyn-based popsters Bishop Allen succeeded in their goal of releasing one new EP every month in 2006. Now, as a welcome relief to the fans who simply couldn’t hitch themselves to that gimmicky wagon train, a Cliff’s Notes version of the monthly project has arrived in the form of The Broken String—the band’s first full-length since 2003’s Charm School.

Nine of The Broken String’s 12 tracks are carryovers from the EPs, albeit rerecorded and smoothed out around the edges. The resulting mix feels impressively cohesive, with songwriters Christian Rudder and Justin Rice nestling nicely into the sort of folk-pop environment typically associated with sad bastards like Bright Eyes, M. Ward, and the Mountain Goats. Interestingly enough, though, The Broken String isn’t a particularly sad record at all. In fact, songs like “Rain” and “Middle Management” bounce around like the Gummi Bears, and “Click Click Click Click” just might be the most insidiously catchy single of the year. “Take another picture with your click click click click camera!” Rice sings amid playfully plucked guitars and ting-ing bells. He is practically inviting Kodak and Fuji to duel for his commercial heart, so be warned.

(Andrew Clayman)


Published in The Metro Pulse, July 2007