It Hugs Back comes off as a couple of whisper-voiced boys who’ve
listened to their fair share of Belle and Sebastian and found some pals
who can bust out a peppy mix of jangle-pop and folk-rock. They make
songs that are strangely hushed despite their propulsive nature.
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin rose to the top of this game on
last year’s Pershing, but It Hugs Back are clearly making a bid
for king of the mountain with Inside Your Guitar. The group’s
first full-length is like a road trip full of speedy drives on bright
pastoral highways and serene late-night stops where distant stars and
insect hums are the only distractions. Songs like “Work Day,” “Unaware”
and “Now + Again,” produce a sense of youthful optimism via bright
hooks and excitable drumming, while tracks like “Q,” “Soon” and
“Rehearsal” play with halcyon atmospherics. Either way, the band is in
command as it skillfully ties together pulsing chords and simple
acoustic note picking with warm organ swells and blissed-out vocals.
— Matt Whelihan
This article appears in Apr 15-21, 2009.
