Just as One Time Bells distanced the French Kicks from their messy garagey/post-punky beginnings, The Trial of the Century finds them moving even farther away from loud drums and guitars. Instead, they started out being influenced by one aspect of '80s music and now take inspiration from a different side of that decade's sound. The band invokes nostalgia for that decade but puts it in a different context. The lack of loudness may disappoint some longtime French Kicks fans, but even then it's far quieter and more polished than anything from their previous releases. Still, the band's new direction isn't impossible to reconcile with their older work -- their songs have always had a pop heart, and the mix of keyboard-laden, low-key rock and lighter-than-air pop on The Trial of the Century sounds fresher, or at least less easily dated, than a lot of the garage rock, synth pop, and post-punk rehashings of their contemporaries.
Condition: Brand New Factory Sealed
TRACK LISTING
1 One More Time 3:17
2 Don't Thank Me 2:58
3 The Trial of the Century 4:14
4 Oh Fine 4:15
5 The Falls 3:30
6 Was It a Crime 3:00
7 Following Waves 4:16
8 You Could Not Decide 4:02
9 Yes, I Guess 2:28
10 Only So Long 5:28
11 Better Time 5:11
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