The Scutches, “Ten Songs, Ten Years” LP

cover-scutchesI was halfway through the first side of the ScutchesTen Songs, Ten Years before I finally pegged singer Vicenzo’s voice — it’s essentially Ariel Rechtshaid of the Hippos. It’s a very distinct manner of singing. While slightly nasal, there’s a rather impressive amount of enunciation for the crisp, clear vocals. Confusing? Yeah, it probably is.

How can I explain this? Let’s just say that there’s some serious belting here, and yet there’s none of that vocal slur that comes when you project as much as Vincenzo does. The lyric sheet’s basically superfluous. You know what this guy’s singing.

It’s a voice perfectly-suited to these super-sweet, simple pop numbers that absolutely leap out of your speakers. The pairing of “Weekend Boyfriend” and “Summer Night” is most demonstrative of the pallet with which the duo work. The first track is quiet, piano-based pop that’s quiet and introspective, about loving someone so much that you’re already thinking ahead to being married and dealing with kids, and how you want to be so much more than you are. “Summer Night” is a big, loud, rock ‘n’ roll pop-punk number that’s about partying and having fun.

When a band can move past the limitations of a genre like pop-punk, it’s an achievement that always results in an album to which you can return over and over again. When a band like the Scutches understands that pop means more than simplistic song structure — that bands like the Beach Boys and the Beatles could write songs that were interesting, as well as something you could hum — then, you’ve got something more. The instrumentation on “In Dreams,” with piano and guitar and everything all combining to become just beautiful pop, and then followed by the simple drums and acoustic guitar number “Only For A Minute,” which builds to an actual rainstorm — goodness. It’s pretty emotional.

The album is available as part of a pressing of 500, all on orange vinyl. The vinyl’s kind of clear — it looks like it was made from solidified spilled pop, almost like if you licked it, it would taste like candy. You can buy it from the Bright & Barrow store.