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10 February 2013

New Release and Free Stream: Out of View by the History of Apple Pie.


 New Release and Free Stream:  
Out of View by the History of Apple Pie

I’ve just finished giving an elated first listen to Out of View, the debut full-length by London shoegaze quintet The History ofApple Pie, released just this past Monday. To my ears, this is a record of iridescently classic shoegaze: fuzzy, gauzy, sweet, joyful-melancholy, and beautifully and skillfully executed in every respect. And, beyond its genre, this release is pretty classic pop altogether, with sparkling hooks and melodies and sentiments like, “I have so much love to give,” “I’m in love, so in love” and “I will show you love again...I’ll take you away” (lyrics unofficial).

All tracks feature lovely and effervescent female harmony vocals, courtesy of guitarist/lead singer Stephanie Min and bassist/backing vocalist ­Kelly Owens, that have already fuelled comparison to Lush. One can certainly hear the MBV influence here, and another point of comparison might be the gazier tracks of The Primitives. This music is not terribly original or edgy—although moments of pushing the sonic envelope with extreme fuzz and effects do occur, along with a refreshing antipodal textural foray into acoustic guitar usage on the penultimate cut, “Long Way to Go” —but it is consistently spot-on, without a weak or even relatively weak track in the bunch. On first impression Out of View strikes me as practically an album of ten A-sides, albeit sequenced with a savvy that generates a continuous propulsive flow and the kind of cohesiveness that makes this a real album as opposed to a mere collection of good songs.

What’s more, The History of Apple Pie are comprised of three appealing, slender mop-topped lads and two pretty and petite—can I please just say extremely cute, in a totally good way—young women with complementary haircuts (bangs galore), making for one of the more adorable ensembles in recent memory:


Out of View has been released by Marshall Teller records. It can be streamed free in its entirety here and has been given 3.5 stars at Consequence of Sound and an 8 out of 10 at exclaim.ca.
 
You can buy an MP3 download from Amazon. I see no evidence of domestic US availability of physical release, but several CD and vinyl packages are being offered as store exclusives by Big Cartel across the pond.
  
—Dan Joy