Review: PS I Love You - 'FOR THOSE WHO STAY'

Fleetingly brilliant but all too often decidedly average, PS I Love You's third LP For Those Who Stay is a turgid and tiresome affair.

  It’s not an encouraging sign for a band that three albums down the line, they still sound like they’re still finding their feet. However, it’s a suspicion simply you can’t shake listening to Canadian duo PS I Love You’s third LP, For Those Who Stay. While not without merit, it is rarely an engaging listen; and its simplistic, straightforward take on fuzzy indie-rock proves increasingly mundane as the record progresses.

  While there are sparks that break the monotony and boasting a relatively strong opening act, For Those Who Stay otherwise sounds like a continuation of the same mid-tempo, synth-sprinkled fuzzy indie anthem; and quickly becomes a tiresome listen. This isn’t helped by Saulnier’s yelping, Frank Black-cum-Robert Smith vocals; an overtly, artificially styled performance that is frequently grating – and on occasion unlistenable.

  That said, curtain-raiser ‘In My Mind At Least’, ‘Limetone Radio’ and the album’s centrepiece ‘For Those Who Stay’ are all captivating songs, and proof that when members Paul Saulnier and Benjamin Nelson stray from their epic indie anthem comfort-zone, they are indeed capable of moments of genuine inspiration. ‘Limestone Radio’s calculated yet maniacal riff proves For Those Who Stay’s most gripping moment, and the unsahekably Smithsesque ‘In My Mind At Least’ is an excellent start, subtly channelling ‘The Headmaster Ritual’ and anchored in Saulnier’s Marr-aping jangley, intricate guitar lead. Then the record’s title track is a similarly 80s tinged highlight, echoing both Joy Division and MGMT in a sprawling effects-pedal laden epic, and all grounded in a mesmerising, sombre piano hook. But it is also telling that For Those Who Stay’s best moments occur free from the yelping shackles of Saulnier’s draining vocals.

  If anything, the album is a lesson to its members to dip their toes in more expansive musical water. While it’s opening act provides some fleetingly brilliant highlights, as a whole For Those Who Stay is all too often decidedly average – and very much the turgid sum of its monotonous parts. Sure, there is enough on this record to assure us that when they set their minds to it, PS I Love You are indeed competent garage-rockers... but it’s just too indulgently bloated, too lackadaisical and simply too convinced of its own epic greatness to amount to anything more. Ultimately, it's a sad indictment of the record that such impassioned indie-rock should leave its audience so cold, but it’s a census that becomes increasingly painful the louder PS I Love You wail.

4/10

 @_jamesgale