From Nottingham England, Richard Snow is known for his jangle fueled guitar and impressive melodies, evidenced in past releases. Richard formed his band The Inlaws in 2005 so he could bring his music to a live stage, and now includes the band in his third release. Opening with the gorgeous “Stop Your Crying?” is the kind of ballad that combines The Byrds jangle and Steve Winwood styled harmonies. The updated merseybeat is more pronounced on “Middle Class Girl” and the acoustic sadness of “If You Don’t Rescue Me” is a sweet folk diversion, with a nice choral coda.
The album’s centerpiece “21st Century” is another gem with some Mod backing vocal touches, and its retro theme, “It’s modern life I fear… the 21st Century sucks.” Another impressive ear-worm “Take Me Back Home” with its multi-tracked chorus is both simple and very catchy. Occasionally the rhythms on songs can get predictable but it’s performed with such skill, it’s hard to complain. Every song here is good, without any filler to be found – and a special treat is the title track with it’s wicked riff that builds and its obsessive-compulsive lyric “Am I really that boring? Yes I am, and I don’t care.” Fans of jangle rock and smooth harmonies will love this album. Highly Recommended.
