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The Connells

Certain Songs #250: The Connells – “Get a Gun”

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Connellsonesimpleword Album: One Simple Word
Year: 1990.

Gotta tell the truth: I really didn’t like One Simple Word that much at all. They wanted to toughen their sound, so they added big rock guitars all over the record, pummelling every bit of melody right out of the songs. And I really hated the lead guitar that sounded like it was just plugged into the mixing board and played by whomever was walking by.

It’s not that I’m against jangly bands plugging in and getting loud: The Posies, for one, did it quite successfully when they reinvented their sound for Frosting on The Beater. It’s just that the production on One Simple Word felt totally wrong for the songs. And from what I could tell, the songs really up to snuff, either.

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Certain Songs #247: The Connells – “Hats Off”

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Connellsdarkerdays Album: Darker Days
Year: 1986

Maybe because it was they were fellow Southerners, but to my ears, very few bands took up the jangly guitar challenge issued by early R.E.M. better than The Connells. And not just because their name was practically “Connelly” either.

And while that name might have helped me notice them, the rip-roaring anthem “Hats Off” is what sealed the deal.

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