It's been 18 years since Brad Laner, Beth Thompson, and Jim Goodall recorded as Medicine and their fuzzy shadow has haunted some musicians and fans in those years. Shoegaze -- or whatever the hell you call what Medicine did on this side of the Atlantic -- went out of favor but there were a few acolytes out there who loved and remembered this stuff.
Then along came Captured Tracks and some reissues of those earlier Medicine albums and finally this new record.
To The Happy Few is out on August 5 and the record's a lively affair. Frankly, it's a good deal warmer than that much ballyhooed MBV reunion record. "The End of the Line" cranks like a garage band and not a bunch of shoegazers and closer "Daylight" brings a hint of Bonham-stomp to the proceedings.
This style of music was never going to last, let's be honest about that. But Medicine attack the form with some vigor and liveliness and for that I'm thankful. Like eating a big wad of cotton candy, To The Happy Few won't fill you up for a long time but when it goes down it's just a delicious bit of business.
Download single "Long As The Sun" below.
