Need some dopamine? Arrows In Action’s third offering is a grab bag of catchy songs capturing the sweet thrill of nostalgia.
Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. Arrows In Action know it and they’ve felt it. Even so, what the Gainesville trio do with it, however, is more interesting than cheap revivalism or imitation. For their third album, they’ve bottled the sugary dopamine hit of, say, rewatching a comfort show or replaying memories like beloved video tapes, and distilled it into a record that chews over the experience instead of trying to replicate it.
Plain to see is the fun Arrows In Action have with the concept, warming up slowly with the gentle twinkle of Celebration’s verses, before it brightens in its chorus into something that sounds bigger. By Feel It Again, they’ve clearly chugged something fizzy and poured that into its pacy rhythms and gooey recollection of past romantic joys, before Hello Sunlight! brims with larger-than-life sunniness with a quirky, funky touch. In fact, they get away with being quirky more than they realise, as the glowstick-bright grooves of Empty Canvas attest, and their outlandishness means that the bursts of saxophone feel gutsy rather than cheesy. The same could be said of Light Like You, easily the catchiest song here, which rhymes ‘acid’ and ‘I said’ in a way they’re just carefree enough to get away with.
The weakest part of I Think I’ve Been Here before is its tail end. Corner Of Your Mind is slightly too modest for what it’s trying to be and Nobody Told Me doesn’t do much more than offer a watery palette cleansing moment, but closer Stay Awake rescues itself by gradually unfurling into something with grander aspirations.
Generally speaking, the loud, catchy moments where it feels like they’re preparing to set off confetti cannons and party are the strongest here. In fact, Arrows In Action could go bolder in parts without risking the possibility of jumping the shark. Still, there’s a lot to enjoy, and maybe the best for them is still yet to come – and that’s no bad thing.
Verdict: 3/5
For fans of: The Home Team, Set It Off, Honey Revenge
I Think I’ve Been Here Before is released September 19 via Nettwerk.
