Saturday Looks Good to Me

God bless K Records' tousled-bedhead messes, but it's a mystery to us what, exactly, Saturday Looks Good to Me are doing on this label's roster. These Ann Arbor, Michigan-based indie-poppers simply have their "gee willikers" stuff a bit too together, you know? Neither Calvin Johnson nor Phil Elverum had a...

By Ray Cummings

November 8, 2007

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

God bless K Records' tousled-bedhead messes, but it's a mystery to us what, exactly, Saturday Looks Good to Me are doing on this label's roster. These Ann Arbor, Michigan-based indie-poppers simply have their "gee willikers" stuff a bit too together, you know? Neither Calvin Johnson nor Phil Elverum had a hand in the creation of Fill Up the Room, the band's latest feel-good disc, which lacks the inspired, twee amateurishness the duo usually bring to the projects they tackle. Instead, Saturday just seem to really, really want to open for the Polyphonic Spree; all the signs are certainly there. The kind of goofy sing-along choruses and hooks that could gain them entry to the Elephant 6 collective's secret clubhouse? Check. A charismatic cheerleader of a frontman? Uh-huh — Fred Thomas, the kind of guy who can sell a line like "Me and my best friend sleep without any clothes/With books on the bedspread in languages no one knows" without coming off as cloying or creepy. Lyrics that fit the music like a glove but stink on paper? Yup! Melodicas, tape loops, saxes, harpsichords, and glockenspiels strengthen the group's positive glow without being distracting, reminding us how much we dug Belle and Sebastian, back in the day when they wouldn't give interviews.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.