Eternal Summers - Correct Behavior Review

Someone once told me that you are always 17 in your hometown; this also seems to be true in Eternal Summers' songs. Since their 2010 self-titled EP, the Roanoke, Virginia, duo (which recently became a trio) has been writing melodic, minimalist tunes about rules, rebellion, and first loves that conjure the bratty sweetness of the Pastels or the lilting noise-pop of Henry's Dress. They called their songs things like "Prisoner", "Cog", and "Disciplinarian". That last one kicked off their spirited but spotty 2010 album Silver: a fiery, one-and-a-half minute pop temper tantrum throughout which Nicole Yun flaunted the titular polysyllable like a 10-dollar word she'd overheard at the grown-ups' table. "I think it's high time I had a disciplinarian," she sneered. "The kind who tells me why I should follow the rules again." The taut, post-punk jerk of the verse locked her lyrics into a staccato rhythm, but when the chorus came it was like summer vacation: She threw her head back and wailed.

As its title implies, their new record, Correct Behavior, is also animated by that familiar but innocent strain of anarchy-- a distain for dumb rules and a desire to escape the mundane. "Who could understand you?" Yun hollers on "Wonder", a wickedly angsty, brooding-in-the-bedroom anthem. "Mom and Dad, please/ You can never enter/ Shut the back door." Miraculously, although the band members are all now around 30, their commitment to exploring these conflicts never feels awkward, stale, or even particularly juvenile: Their emotional immediacy and depth of feeling grows with each album. With its lush, pearly guitar tones and violin accompaniment, the lead-off track, "Millions", is the fullest-sounding thing they've ever done, but its refrain is classic Eternal Summers: "I've got to shake this shell and break it into millions." Correct Behavior feels like the band's breakout album, and not just because it showcases a bigger sound-- but for the much more literal reason that a lot of these songs are about breaking out....full text On Eternal Summers’ debut LP, Silver, the Virginia duo managed to master both hard-edged post-punk and lush dream-pop. With their second album, Correct Behavior, the newly expanded trio synthesizes the two disparate genres yet again with overwhelmingly positive results.


As a re-introduction, the album’s first tracks spotlight both their poppier and darker, more experimental tendencies. Representing the former, “I Love You” bubbles with dream-pop’s essentials. The guitar’s high-energy chug and the walls of “ohh” and “aww” vocal harmonies lend an ethereal atmosphere and deep beauty to an underlying simple, undeniably nerdy lyrical framework (“Under the radar/ Had to use the ray gun”).

Where its predecessor was all cheese, “Girls in the City” is a late ’80s post-punk masterpiece. Mutilated New Wave guitar, built for some decrepit, crumbling disco, highlights drummer Daniel Cundiff’s sing-talking about stalking a neighborhood girl. With every tweak in that guitar, the song oozes angst and an unhealthy desire in a subtle yet profound way that defines the post-punk ethos, while pushing its possibilities in new, creepy directions....full text Summertime is in full effect. Time to blow off work and take a road trip. Every successful road trip is prepared with the summer road trip trinity: gas, snacks, and tunes. What more appropriately named band to scroll across your “now playing” readout than Eternal Summers? Eternal Summers are coming out with a new CD called Correct Behavior on July 24th. While Correct Behavior will not fuel your car or feed your friends, its high listenability points should compel you to queue up a few tracks for your journeys in the sunny months...full text