I Wish comes sandwiched between 3 samples from Brinkman's upcoming album and, to my ears, is not as strong as two of the other tracks, the cheery and bouncy Change It, which flicks between 60s west coast pop and strong Madness riffs, and the equally upbeat, drum lead Curse of the Girlfriend.
There's a sassyness, a sharp pop sensibility at work here. I Wish suffers from somewhat unsubtle production and a slightly strained lead vocal, backed by soft harmonies, but even this limitation grows on you (a bit like with Squeeze, to whom they're often compared). It just adds to the band's character.
Great to see someone producing quality pop again - it may not be terribly subtle either lyrically or musically, but by God it's cheerful and hummable.
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