The Sundays: Static & Silence

In 1990, Harriet Wheeler and David Gavurin of The Sundays put out their first album, Reading, Writing And Arithmetic. Full of crisp, jangly pop—driven by Wheeler's sweetly lilting vocals and Gavurin's shimmering guitar lines—the album was warmly received for the bright pop moment it was. Two years later came Blind, which sounded, well, an awful lot like its predecessor. Then, for five years: nothing. Wheeler and Gavurin had a baby, spent some time off, and set to recording another album that sounds, well, an awful lot like Reading, Writing And Arithmetic. All of that record's ingredients remain intact: Wheeler's voice is beautiful, wavering between a girlish coo and a soaring swoon, and Gavurin's guitar work illuminates tons of warm, sharp hooks. The only difference, besides five years of passed time, is that Static & Silence is a bit slower and more melancholy; there's still a sunny tone, to be sure, but songs like "When I'm Thinking About You" and "I Can't Wait" (which, honest to God, samples chirping birds) are drawn out and delivered at a more deliberate pace than usual. Static & Silence is far from essential, but The Sundays' return provides a welcome respite from all the ghastly Our Lady Peace records out there.