The Pierces - Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge

The Pierces are the sort of band your mother warned you about. Hailing from Alabama, the Pierce sisters sport sweet smiles and cute accents which will capture your heart as soon as you meet them. It only took one post-gig meeting in November (where they were supporting Albert Hammond jr.) for me to fall head-over heels in love with them and I’ve been waiting for their newest release Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge ever since. Initially, however, it was a disappointment. The opening track Secret is annoyingly lilty, indie bubblegum, the lyrics are simplistic and a little awkward. Next track Boring sounds like a Bond Theme (not in a good way) crossed with an abstract shopping list and begins to give the impression that this album could be very dire. But then something strange happens. It's third time lucky as _Sticks and Stones_ sees the Alabama twins switch into a perfect piece of alt-rock, reminiscent of early No Doubt, with a beat that will have you shaking your booty around the room and lyrics that, for the first time on the album, well…work. At this point one can’t help but feel like the only highlight of the album has passed. Fortunately this is not the case. Ballad Lights On shines with lyrical brilliance “Some people say that I want you for your money/but I really want you for your body” and sounds like a perfect wind down track. The eastern overtones of Lies combine with fabulous vocals, while Turn on Billie is a beautiful yet unassuming piece, which, if there were any justice in the world, would be standard fare for any hotel lobby. Ruin, probably the most obvious tale of revenge the album title eludes too, is a bittersweet and magnificently understated tune, as is the fingerpicked Three Wishes that follows. Despite a rather poor start Thirteen Tales… turns out to be a elegant and deafeningly muted LP. The Pierces cannot be blamed for trying more avant-garde tracks like Boring but should see that they are at their best with traditional fare. When you hear these girls write and sing heart-moving ballads like The Power of…or Fiona Apple-esque Boy In a Rock and Roll Band, you wonder why they ever chose to depart from these paths. Without doubt Allison and Catharine are as talented as they are beautiful. At their best the sound like Cat Power, Jenny Lewis and Gwen Stefani getting together for a jam session, but at their worst they sound like bored art-students. My only criticism of this album can be the uncharacteristically poor opening two tracks, which betray the quality of the rest of the record. Overall Thirteen Tales… is a brilliant mix of flavours, intertwining country, folk, lounge and pop into a mouth-watering musical meal, unfortunately a over zealous chef has thrown the first two tracks in like an ill fitting sauce. But do not let the disappointing opening put you off, after all what was the “skip track” button invented for?