Present past
Certain People I know have a charming upbeat indie-rock sound and this record has plenty of solid moments helped along by great melodies, rich bass which is nice and high in the mix, jagged guitars and stop/start rhythms - it's all finished with a 90s feel making for grooveable tunes shot through with a warm scuzzy heart.
The very first impression is that the album brings to mind (Ten Spot/Funeral At The Movies era) Shudder To Think very strongly - especially the male vocals, but also the guitar work, with some of the riffs feeling a touch familiar. This is very evident on the opener in particular which is a great tune and very memorable, but as mentioned, it does feel a touch too derivative. However straight away on follow up track Our Lady Of Guadalupe you start to hear the little touches which separate them from this comparison and form the band's distinctive sound - lovely female vocals pop up in support and by the time the excellent All You Gotta Do Is Show rolls round, cracking melodies and some nicely fiddly guitar sections are keeping you hooked. This tune also benefits from really solid duel vocals, stop/start rhythms and superbly grooveable bass lines.
Actually, CPIK begin to be more reminiscent of Ladyfinger (ne) than Shudder To Think at this point which also isn't a bad thing - perhaps slightly less chunky riffage but still hitting the spot in that department with a scuzzy feel to the guitars providing a full, warm sound overall. On the first play through it felt like the album took while to get warmed up, however even with just one repeat spin the tunes already felt comfortable, with tracks like Make It Up welcomed like old friends - give it half a chance and you'll wonder what you did without it in your collection.