R&D

The Research made one of my favorite albums of 2006, their debut Breaking Up. It's full of romance, humor, la las, bah bahs, and gritty-sounding keyboards. Since then, they added a fourth member, recorded and scrapped two versions of the follow-up (including one produced by onetime Eggstone frontman Per Sunding), dropped the fourth member, singer Russell hurt his arm and was no longer able to play keyboards and switched to guitar (that's what I heard at least), and got dropped from their label, EMI.

It's enough travails to bust-up most band, but The Research soldiered through and have finally released album number two, The Old Terminal, which, once you get past the re-jiggering of their sound from keyboards to guitars, is just as good as their debut...just kinda different. There is an adjustment period. That shitty keyboard (so memorably decorated with "Piney Gir [Hearts] Bearsuit") was the sound of the first album, but really it was Russell's songs that drove it.

Now, The Research sound a little more like Orange Juice, a little more country, a little more Pavement  but it's still them. It's still that slightly shambolic, lala-filled sound (thanks to rhythm section Georgia and Sarah)... just now it's mostly guitars. How can you not like "Treasure Every Measure," "Lost Souls in the Vapours," and single "She's the One I Love"?There's also "I Would Like to Be Forgiven," which features one of Wakefield's most-famous fillial trios and reeks, in a good way, of their cribbage. But mostly it's a Research album, which we've gone too long waiting for really. 

MP3: The Research - Treasure Every Measure

MP3: The Research - I Would Like to Be Forgiven

Buy The Old Terminal

Here's the video for "She's the One I Love":

The Research - I Think She's The One I Love from This Is Fake DIY Records on Vimeo.