The Purrs on Fin Records

I’m never going to get over the lengths that Fin Records goes to in putting together an impressive package. Their attention to detail in working closely with each band designing these singles makes every release special. Even from a Seattle group like The Purrs who have been around for over ten years, their latest single “Rotting On the Vine” makes an impression before even putting it on the turntable. The crystal clear vinyl has a redesigned center FIN label this time and the full color inner sleeve is embossed with their FIN notary stamp over liner notes and an extension of those abstract, dark cover graphics of the moon layered in multiple exposures.

A-Side’s "Rotting on the Vine" has a big English indie-style sound, a Northwest interpretation of the massive shoegaze-psych of The Verve paired with The Lilies British invasion fixation including lots of Beatles style harmonies from Jason and Liz. That guy/girl combination is always an important tool in reaching those anthemic, soaring heights with layers like this. You could also find influences of big, polished Superchunk riffs with that DIY attitude that comes from longevity.
They're going to list all the ways the character in this track isn’t appreciating anything, sucking up all the sun to the point it kills him, all delivered in this super pop style, with a polish that throws you off for a minute, it's a real sneering punk sentiment done in an indie pop way, but this ain’t no celebration, but pointing a finger. I told you so, let me put this down in a way you might understand; big choruses, crystal clean guitars, half step beats you bastards!

B-Side "You, The Medicine and Me” starts with a jangle guitar at Interpol low-end levels with a backwards-sustained chorus howl of buzzing notes. Jason and Liz trade verses here with a darker edge to this one. Attacking heavier subjects, not that the A-side was a happy number when it came to content, but Liz’s vocals in this angelic register might trick you for a minute. Stutter guitar muting the strums next to that chorus and Jason’s lower end talky delivery slide under her floating lyric. I think a lot about those kinds of contradictions listening to The Purrs, the ways they employ all these pop genres in their gravitational pull. They even get psych on this one a little bit but the whole thing is far too crafted and exacting to have any of that mushy, free-form hippie styling to this. Snap it up on Fin Records, I hear a full length is in the works.