The Start of Our Affair

专辑介绍：by Jason AnkenySometimes there's no good reason for a record not to work -- all the proper elements all in place, but, somehow, the end result just doesn't jell. The Start of Our Affair is that kind of LP: the Cherry Orchard's lighter-than-air melodies, bossa nova-styled beats and cotton-candy arrangements approximate continental '60s pop with unfailing accuracy, but the finished product remains much less than the sum of its parts. "That Summer Feeling" is as much manifesto as opener, the Nancy Sinatra tribute "Listening to Nancy" conjures the richly ornate production sound of the great Lee Hazlewood, and "Jean and Paul" acknowledges the tongue-in-cheek spirit behind the duo's retro Franco-pop sound. But while never anything less than pleasant, the album is just too insubstantial to leave any kind of real impression -- it's an Affair hardly worth remembering.