Smothered in Hugs - The Healing Power of Injury

Collagen Rock Records
Published February 5, 2009  by Jason Lewis in Record Reviews

Given that Smothered in Hugs take their name from a song by indie stalwarts Guided by Voices, it’s no surprise that this PEI quartet throw down with an ear for ’90s college rock. What is surprising is that they mix that with a ’80s revival esthetic. With former Superfriend Charles Austin at the boards, The Healing Power of Injury eschews the typical East Coast rock sound proliferated by their label mates Two Hours Traffic for something far more clipped and urgent. The fist-clenched percussion and single-string guitar solos play to the mid-fi party tradition, but the vocals and keyboard lines more than hint at ’80s pop radio. The references are obvious, but not for obvious reasons. The vocals sound like Paul Weller, but it’s the melody, not the delivery. At times, the album conjures U2, but not Edge’s trademark guitar, rather the overly theatrical use of piano. When it works, it works perfectly with bubbly bass and singalong choruses. When it misses, its still functional, but it sounds like it’s trying too hard to be too many things.



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