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Monday, August 20, 2012

What's going on / Music Monday To-Do: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Posted by Robert Bell on Mon, Aug 20, 2012 at 8:48 AM

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin plays at Stickyz Monday.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin plays at Stickyz Monday.

SOMEONE STILL LOVES YOU BORIS YELTSIN
9 p.m. Stickyz. $8 adv., $10 day of.

Springfield, Mo.'s, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin arrived back in the early '00s and by mid-decade had become a familiar name on the blog circuit. In 2006, SSLYBY landed the song "Oregon Girl" on the MTV soap "The OC" and inked a deal with Polyvinyl Records that same year. The band's independently released full-length "Broom," was re-released to generally positive reviews. The 2008 follow-up, "Pershing," met with similar reception, as did 2010's "Let it Sway."

That record's sound — it was produced by Beau Sorenson and Death Cab For Cutie's Chris Walla — isn't glossy, really. At times, though, it feels a bit restrained, like the band really wants to rock out more but keeps it between the white lines instead of purposefully heading into the ditch every once in a while.

"My Terrible Personality" and "All Hail Dracula!" raise a bit of a ruckus. The latter has some satisfyingly nervy dueling guitars, for instance. But for the most part, the record is all handclaps and harmonies and jangly guitars. It's fine guitar pop that hits many of the same pleasure centers as Canadian cult power-poppers Sloan, The Shins or Weezer when they decide to care about writing a song.

The show is 18-and-older.

Tags: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin