Henri Faberge & the Adorables recently swung through town with extremely cutesy and talented bubble-gum poppers the Bicycles, sharing members between the two groups. They are also mentioned in a number of Canadian blogs as having an excellent live show. Bearing this in mind and riding on a small tide of buzz, I selected the Henri Faberge & the Adorables disc from a desk in the Discorder office and excitedly decided to review it. However, if buzz was always reliable, we’d be able to find a mind-blowing new band every week.

The indie community recently went through an onslaught of confectionery pop from bands like the Bicycles and I’m From Barcelona. These guys fall squarely into this recent musical movement. While doing their best to channel the Monkees in a modern context, Faberge and his Adorables fail to deliver the goods. Perhaps this reviewer has merely reached saturation point for artists in this genre, but all the friends singing backup vocals, kooky love songs, and guest horn sections failed to distinguish this record from its superior predecessors. They flaunt all the conventions of other bands in this genre, but don’t manage to evoke the camaraderie and humour that initially made this kind of music so much fun. They try to keep their sound modern with a jaded take on romance, but all it does is mirror this listener’s jaded love of sugar pop.