Review by Doug Cornell

Some albums like to sneak up on you.  The new release from this Memphis area three-piece band, The Delicate Seam, is a partly subtle, partly intense brand of unique modern rock music.

David Shouse, formerly of the well-reviewed yet rarely heard Grifters, takes control of the vocals and guitar duties, while  Paul Taylor (ex-North Mississippi Allstars and DDT) plays drums.  Keyboards are added to the threesome by Thom Krupski.  The Bloodthirsty Lovers are most often compared to The Flaming Lips, but while the Lips are vacuous and spacy, the Lovers are obscure yet memorable.  They can be your favorite band that no one knows about.

"Mods Go Mad," the opening track, is driven by clever guitar strumming and Shouse's intelligent sense of vocal melody.  Maybe the repeated line, "Climbing the walls but no one's listening" sums up the bands attitude towards song writing; they create wonderful, interesting  music, but fully realize that most people won't understand or appreciate it. 

The pace continues at a modest pace with the slow yet intense "Stiltwalker's Local No. 199," while "A Postcard From the Sea" is a beautiful mid-tempo piece that really makes the most of Shouse's vocal abilities.  His thin tenor is engaging yet clear, and perfectly compliments the simple instrumentation of guitar, keyboards, and percussion.

An outstanding blast of guitar heroics make "The Conversation" worth hearing, and when the band turns up the tempo and volume, they sound vaguely similar to Guided By Voices ("Now You Know").

"Happiness" is the one song on The Delicate Seam that might find its way on The O.C., as it possesses the sort of guitar jangle and quiet singing favored by modern television drama producers.

The Delicate Seam is the sort of record that doesn't provoke one to dance or move about recklessly.  Instead, it offers an oddly relaxing brand of intensity that is better suited for serious listening.  Repeated listening will undoubtedly reveal hidden melodies, guaranteeing a long shelf-life.