The Razorcuts

Matinée follows up their excellent Razorcuts retrospective from 2002 with another (sadly brief) trawl through the archives. The first track, "A Is for Alphabet," is one of the Razorcuts' best songs, instantly hummable and resolutely indie pop; if you had to pick one song to be their epitaph, this may be it. It was already on the R Is for...Razorcuts compilation, so its appearance here is a bit of a mystery, albeit a mystery that makes a pleasant listen. The other four tracks weren't on the collection. "First Day" is an upbeat tune taken from the 1987 Flying Nun single; "Snowbound" is from the band's second album, The World Keeps Turning, and is a lush 12-string guitar-filled ballad with a wonderful minor-chord chorus. The other two tracks are both demos, and were first released on 7" by Bob Stanley's Caff Corporation label in 1990. "Sometimes I Worry About You" was recorded in 1984, "For Always" in 1985. Both songs are very jangly, very emotional, and very, very good. The Razorcuts are very, very good -- good enough that one wishes Matinée had just gone ahead and released everything the Razorcuts ever recorded on however many discs it took to get the job done. In lieu of that, listeners have this CD EP. Soon you should be able to say you have it; indie pop doesn't get much better than this. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide