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PUNCHES
WARNER BROS.
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"I’m ready to conquer your kingdom" is the first line from Punches, the major-label debut from this New Orleans outfit. No point in being humble, right? As you might expect from a band who take their name from an R.E.M. song, WLP are more at home sculpting soaring pop songs than juke-joint jazz improvs or Mardi Gras brass marches. Singer-songwriter Keith Ferguson jumps into falsetto range for dramatic effect, and it’s clear he’s spent more time studying the Bono school of earnest declarations than the Michael Stipe class of cryptic, understated crooning. The result brings to mind an earth-bound Jim Kerr. (Remember Simple Minds?) Guitars are AWOL here; instead, skillful arrangements of strings, glockenspiel, sleigh bells, and finger snaps provide the orchestrated backdrop. The disc could use more grooves like the infectious one on "Tit for Tat." But the instrumental "Appassionato" is pretty without apologies, and that’s worth a brag or two. World Leader Pretend + Army of Me | Paradise Lounge, 969 Comm Ave, Boston | 617.562.9914
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