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BY TIM SHELLBERG
Times Correspondent | Sunday, April 04, 2004 | (No comments posted.)
The Bigger Lovers found themselves in a quandary with their label on the day their third album, at the time titled "Myrthquake," was going to press.
"We submitted the album artwork with another title and they called and said, 'We absolutely hate the title of the record. Please change it,' " said band singer and guitarist Bret Tobias. "We had about two hours to come up with another title, and things with us work generally slowly.
"So as the minutes were ticking, we called up a friend, who suggested the title of our first record, and he suggested the title, which fit perfectly."
Scheduled to perform with fellow smart-popsters Pernice Brothers and The Long Winters at Chicago's Double Door on Saturday in support of their officially christened "This Affair Never Happened … and Here Are Eleven Songs About It," Tobias and fellow Bigger Lover bassist Scott Jefferson played in numerous bands on their Philadelphia home front for nearly a decade before forming the Bigger Lovers in the late '90s.
Rounding out their lineup with guitarist Ed Hogarty and drummer Patrick Berkery, who also pounds the skins for their Saturday show mates Pernice Brothers, the Bigger Lovers received heaps of critical praise and amassed a cult following with their first two releases, 2001's "How I Learned to Stop Worrying" and the following year's "Honey in the Hive."
While their songs often have been favorably compared to the style of melody-heavy cult band Big Star, Tobias isn't a fan of the "power pop" tag that is often branded to both his and the legendary Alex Chilton-led '70s outfits' music.
"It feels kind of limiting and has all these unfortunate connotations," he said. "I can see why people would consider us a power-pop group. But it seems like it's a commercial noose around our neck and sort of shortchanges us a bit when you think about it."
While "Hive" was, in Tobias' eyes, meticulously polished sonically, the band decided to take a looser and less glossy approach to "Affair." And even though the album's title and overall theme of relationships gone south may mislead the listener down the concept-album road at first, Tobias said that "Affair" wasn't conceived to be a themed epic set.
"Pretty much all of our songs are about bad relationships in one way, shape or form," he said, laughing. "That's kind of nothing new for us. I guess that we're kind of one-track minded in that respect."
Like the band's previous releases, "Affair" was well received by critics upon its release March 9. While Tobias may cringe at the use of the dreaded phrase that often accompanies his band, Erik Hage from All Music Guide said in his review of the album that "the Bigger Lovers are one of the best bands trolling the timeless power pop landscape in the new millennium."
Unfortunately, critical acclaim doesn't always make for great record sales.
"I don't think Yep Roc (the band's record label) is going to have us around much longer if something doesn't happen," Tobias said. "So we're hoping that a few people buy this (CD). Our plan for the year is to basically stay alive in that regard."
The Bigger Lovers' stage mates, the Massachusetts-based Pernice Brothers, released their third full-length collection, "Yours, Mine & Ours," in May 2003. Also performing at Double Door on Saturday are The Long Winters, whose second effort, "When I Pretend to Fall," also came out last May.
Onstage
Pernice Brothers, The Long Winters, The Bigger Lovers
When: 10 p.m. Saturday
Where: Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Tickets: $12 (21-and-older show)
For more info: (773) 489-3160 or visit www.doubledoor.com
Onstage
Pernice Brothers, The Long Winters, The Bigger Lovers
When: 10 p.m. Saturday
Where: Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Tickets: $12 (21-and-older show)
For more info: (773) 489-3160 or visit www.doubledoor.com
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