Absentee - Victory Shorts

is an album bursting at the seams with songs about the gritty, painful, hilarious and joyful side of true love. It’s not about the giddy, helter-skelter whirlwind of first love, but more about a kind of ‘hey, why don’t we settle down?’ comfortable-as-slippers type relationship.

It’s no surprise the super-talented Absentee have provided songs for soundtracks before as all their songs could easily be turned into cool as hell indie movies (you know the type, always shot in soft focus and directed by Sofia Coppola).

Singer Dan Michaleson is blessed with a voice that starts off way down somewhere in his boots and bubbles on upwards like a Johnny Cash volcano, used to great effect on opener ‘Shared’ with its ultra slow rhythm, like wading through gloopy treacle and enjoying every sticky sweet moment. In sharp contrast it’s followed by the gloriously uptempo track ‘Boy, Did She Teach You Nothing?’, which is a musical slap around the chops for anyone who’s moped about someone who’s done them wrong.

Absentee are all about the storytelling, less about the killer hook - which isn’t to say their songs aren’t fiercely catchy, it’s just that they obviously concentrate on honing their brilliant, insightful lyrics first and foremost. ‘We Smash Plates’ deals with having an argument and getting over it, but knowing it’s not quite over yet (“We both smile, knowing there will always be more”) while the slow build up of ‘They Do It These Days’, with its gradual layers of instruments added, building up to a crescendo is like love unexpectedly creeping up on you (“And it might feel a little soon / But do you want to get married with me?”).

For anyone who doesn’t quite believe that the guy and girl always walk off into the sunset to live happily ever after at the end of the movie, ‘Victory Shorts’ might just be your perfect soundtrack.