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The Comfies

Close to Me

(Livewire; US: 10 Oct 2006; UK: Available as import)

The Comfies are comfortable, almost too comfortable on some of these songs, like the opening title track that sounds like the Rembrandts on steroids. There’s a bit of bite and some edge, but it’s quite telegraphed.  The Washington DC band shows more promise on the softer, sweeter “That’s What She Gets”, which twists and winds before dying a nice, slow death. Another interesting, arty track is “Medicine”, which has some funk and angular accents to it. However, at only seven songs and running under a half-hour, it’s hard to truly get a measure on what they’re about. Generally, the songs are delivered quite nicely, as is the case with “Your Sunshine”, which could be found on any summer mix tape (or CD). Meanwhile, “Understanding 23” is so sugar-coated that it takes a while to get turned onto it.

Rating:

Originally from Cape Breton, MacNeil is currently writing for the Toronto Sun as well as other publications, including All Music Guide, Billboard.com, NME.com, Country Standard Time, Skope Magazine, Chart Magazine, Glide, Ft. Myers Magazine and Celtic Heritage. A graduate of the University of King's College, MacNeil currently resides in Toronto. He has interviewed hundreds of acts ranging from Metallica and AC/DC to Daniel Lanois and Smokey Robinson. MacNeil (modestly referred to as King J to friends), a diehard Philadelphia Flyers fan, has seen the Rolling Stones in a club setting, thereby knowing he will rest in peace at some point down the road. Oh, and he writes for PopMatters.com.


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The Comfies - Your Sunshine [Live @ Grimey's]
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