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Finest Dearest

Finest Dearest (Bloodtown)

By Doug Wallen

Published on April 09, 2008

Your opinion of Finest Dearest may very well rest on how much you like '90s indie rock. An unabashed throwback to the lo-fi glory days of K Records and Kill Rock Stars, the San Francisco five-piece delivers a moody crunch amid various modes of catharsis. Carly Schneider's bittersweet vocals bring out the bygone era even more, alternately recalling Sleater-Kinney and Tiger Trap. That's not to say Finest Dearest isn't satisfying in its own right; the group gets plenty of variety from its storminess.

Finest Dearest opens with the pleasantly dreamy "Naming Ceremony," full of atmospheric spaces and foreboding build-ups. "I don't want to fight about it anymore," Schneider cedes as Christine Bolghand and Josh Luke's guitars battle and drummer Steve Treffers and bassist A.J. Dickerson kick up a decent undertow. "Your Hometown" is lighter and more engaging, bringing out the lilt in Schneider's voice and adding the soft punch of horns. The album's centerpiece is the three-part "Making a Sound," a 12-minute odyssey that lets the band stretch out and try some more post-punk machinations. The fever finally breaks with "Fathers," which features viola and cello for Finest Dearest's sweetest moment yet.



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