White Shoes & The Couples Company - White Shoes & The Couples Company Album Review

White Shoes & The Couples Company
White Shoes & The Couples Company
Album Review

The origins of this sextet are at the Art Institute of Cikini in Jakarta, Indonesia, where Rio and Sari were inspired by the soundtrack of local movies from the 1970's. They were joined by others linked to the institution, swelling the group's numbers to its current set up and released their self-titled debut album in 2005. It has now been picked up by Minty Fresh for release in America.

The appropriately titled 'Simple Overture' starts the record in a soothing manner, comprising of little more than guitar and piano. The style is carried through to 'Nothing To Fear', which introduces the band's most admirable feature - the heavenly vocals of Sari. Whether it be in English or her mother tongue, the lady lifts the songs with a crisp and smooth voice that suits the relaxing nature of the majority of tracks offered here. Raising the tempo and adding touches of jazz, 'Tentang Cita' and the drum-propelled 'Top Star' sound like casino music, though not in a bad way and the guitar playing is similar to that of bands such as El Presidente - quirky and with a summer vibe.

It is with the use of strings that White Shoes & The Couples Company bring variation to their easy listening sound. 'Runaway Song' is carried by violins which then give a surprising dynamic change, something they would be advised to try more often. They also play a prominent part on 'Sunday Memory Lane', which finds the band sounding very much like The Corrs right down to Sari's vocal delivery. Like many tracks here, it is very pleasant when listened to alone, but as an album things become monotonous far too quickly. It fails to hold your attention for the thirteen track duration and becomes a background soundtrack.

Alex Lai