Hurry
"Guided Meditation"
(Lame-O (ASTERISK)(ASTERISK)(ASTERISK){)
Summer isn't here for long, and the third album by Philadelphia trio Hurry, which has been out since April, wistfully captures the sun-kissed sadness of the season slipping away. Front man Matthew Scottoline _ who played bass in Philly emo band Everyone Everywhere _ steadfastly moves Hurry into classic chiming guitar territory on "Guided Meditation." Pick your own touchstone: Matthew Sweet, Real Estate, the Beatles. Hurry specializes in the kind of melancholy melodicism that at its best is reminiscent of those bands as well as other catchy neo-classicists, like the Posies. The emotional range is wide: Scottoline is in a blue mood in the opening "Nothing to Say" ("What's the point of this? Go away"), cheerfully smitten on the crunchy "Fascination" and breezy "I'm With You," and mildly irked on "Shake It Off" (no relation to Taylor Swift's). But even when it's got "That Sinking Feeling," "Guided Meditation" maintains a power-pop tunefulness that lifts the spirits.
_Dan DeLuca
