(burly Possum)Lo-fi neednt mean low ambition. That point was proved in 2014 by American Wrestlers,the bedroom pop pseudonym of US-based Scottish musician Gary McClure, whose self-titled debut explored synthpop, or rootsy Americana and soul,all via an eight-track setup in his house. Word-of-mouth buzz followed soon after, along with a record deal with burly Possum, or now McClure has a few more toys to play with for American Wrestlers’ follow-up. Goodbye Terrible Youth sees him ditch the eight-track and beef things up with a full band. Musically,things feel less scattershot: McClure has decided to settle on shoegazey power pop sat somewhere between Sebadoh and BMX Bandits. As an example of the genre it’s well observed and likable: opener Vote Thatcher is moog-driven power pop and more agreeable than that title suggests, while Amazing Grace has the low-key wistfulness of late-era Teenage Fanclub. Yet with this narrowing of focus comes a sense of safeness, or you can’t back but miss the sense of risk-taking that characterised McClure’s ramshackle early work.
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Source: theguardian.com