The Bangles – Sweetheart of the Sun

If you take a peek at my musical collection, you’ll find the required, cred-building indie bands, some feel-good sugary pop, maybe a touch of hip hop, and a disproportionally large subset of the 80s and chick singers. I love me some new wave pop rock, and I love me some female vocalists. The two tastes converge with a few favorites, but none so near and dear to my heart as The Bangles. Ask a few of my closest friends, and you’re sure to hear tale of my enthusiastic “Walk Like an Egyptian” rendition – complete with the iconic dance, Susanna Hoffs’ sly eye movements, and the jaunty, whistling breakdown. My Bangles’ Greatest Hits album is in frequent rotation when I’m in my sing-along moods, or when I’m whipping up dinner and in need of some background tunes. OK, you get the point right? I really like The Bangles. So when I heard they were releasing a new album this fall, I was quite excited – and not just for the inevitable tour they’d be sure to set out to promote.

Sweethearts of the Sun might be initially overlooked as some washed-up band’s attempt at a comeback, but don’t be so quick to dismiss these girl-band pop legends. Overall, the new album has a more mellow, calmer outlook – the result of still sticking together after the typical band turbulence, the adjustment to post-fame life, and the tempering of steady relationships and motherhood. Songs like “Under a Cloud” almost use guitar as a mere accent to the rolling drum beat, keeping the head-bobbing of the “Manic Monday” era at a minimum. Likewise, “Through Your Eyes,” builds slowly, with some gorgeous harmonies and introspective lyrics – “We’ve been drifting, sadder than ghosts, silently building the walls between us; parallel lines, you know they never touch.”

The songs aren’t all so subdued, however. Songs like “Ball ‘n’ Chain” and “Anna Lee (Sweetheart of the Sun)” prove that girls have got just as much of that vivacious style and rock & roll talent as ever. With cheeky lyrics like “the simplest thought is your cross to bear; if brains were clothes you’d have nothing to wear,” the girls show they’ve got some old-fashioned carelessness leftover to go with all that maturity. Closing it all out is an energetic cover song “Open My Eyes,” where the girls just have some fun with a happily echoing harmony, and even a touch of playful cowbell.

While the album is not nearly as loud and rowdy as their hits of the 80s, the band still rocks out with their jangly, 60′s influenced guitar riffs, and notorious joint harmonies. While I’m not sure if there’s a catchy, chart-climbing pop hit in the set, the album as a whole has some definite grow-on-you gems. You can listen to the whole album streaming, here.

Sweetheart of the Sun is out on September 27th, 2011.