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Penny Century: Between a Hundred Lies

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By: Mozzer | in: Music |

Penny Century

Based in Ostertsund, Sweden, Penny Century has a knack for writing catchy tunes. They cite some of their influences being Belle & Sebastian, Bruce Springsteen , and Rilo Kiley. However, describing their own sound is no easy task. With each song, they deftly move from folksy tunes to 60’s influenced compositions and flat-out Country/Western music. In any case, there’s some good songwriting, and the violin is used to great effect.

Penny Century: Nothing Burns Like Bridges
[youtube]1FTc48Xevfc [/youtube]
[Download]

Their sweet-as-cotton-candy single, “Nothing Burns Like Bridges“, is infused with 60’s-era horns and sounds like a long-forgotten hit from that same period. “Between A Hundred Lies”, “Sounds Like a Melody”, and “Please Don’t Go” also follow in the same retro style. All are charming and instantly likable.

In an interesting bit of juxtaposition, “When the city is Waking Up”, “What I Never Learned to Say” are folksy and thoughtful. My favorite is “Streetlights, Snowflakes & You”. It starts slow and then charges forward as a surprisingly fast country tune. It reminds me of a lost Charlie Daniels number with Jenny Lewis on vocals. What really elevates this album are the mellifluous strains of their violinist. It can be very moving at times.

Penny Century

Their first full-length release, “Between a Hundred Lies“, is out now. As a special treat, you can download the single “Nothing Burns Like Bridges” for free, courtesy of Letterbox Records. And as if this post couldn’t get any sweeter, you can also stream the entire album to help convince you of this band’s pop excellence.

The Verdict: Penny Century is a fabulous up-and-comer. Grab the CD and savor its melodies like a good morning coffee.

Penny Century: Streetlights, Snowflakes & You

[Penny Century - Official Site]
[Penny Century on MySpace]


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Posted on October 9, 2007

Comments

3 Responses to “Penny Century: Between a Hundred Lies”

  1. music » Penny Century: Between a Hundred Lies on October 9th, 2007 2:56 am

    [...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerptPenny Century: Between a Hundred Lies By: Mozzer | in: Music | Penny Century … s influenced compositions and flat-out Country/Western music. In any case, there’s some good songwriting [...]


  2. DThompson on October 11th, 2007 12:39 am

    You hit the nail on the head Mozzer, like a forgotten 60’s pop song. Like a GREAT forgotten 60’s pop song. Good job.


  3. mozzer on October 11th, 2007 11:22 am

    As an addendum, you can get the CD directly from Letterbox Records:
    http://www.letterboxrecords.com/shop.htm


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