Bigamy Sisters
Movies About Gladiators (Scotsmen From Hull) There’s a great deal of pomp with little to no circumstance on Movies About Gladiators, the orchestral second LP from the newly all-male Austin quartet Bigamy Sisters. Mixing cellos with clarinets and vibes, and relying on epic scope rather than precise songwriting, this album of Kinks-inspired melodies and Texas-flavored psychedelia drowns in a sea of inadequate production while bobbing its head above water once or twice. Where the blueprint for songs such as “Robe Theme” surely seemed grandiose, the group’s chamber-pop sensibilities get the best of them before the listener can determine whether the song is good or not. After the first couple of songs aim for a more rollicking Spiritualized formula, the rest of the album tries hard to capture a dynamic, Brit pop energy, but instead meanders with unoriginal melodies. The moments of promise (“Money Song”) prove that Bigamy Sisters are fine pop architects, they just haven’t finely tuned their structures yet; eventually, the album becomes another psychedelic rock album, with touches of other Lone Star outfits such as Flowerhead and even early Tripping Daisy. “The Way We Talk” is the one song that gets it right and right away. A deeply effective and moody tune, it gives new meaning to the “less is more” adage and how it can benefit a band like Bigamy Sisters. They’re at their best when they’re trying to stay simple. Movies About Gladiators proves they can think outside the pop/rock box, it’s just probably going to take another album or two before their sound joins them there.
This article appears in May 9 • 2003.