Dean & Britta
Issue #31
Back Numbers (Zoë)
By Sheba White
Published: March 1st, 2007 | 12:00am
Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips put out languid, glossy gems on par with the best of ’60s pop couples — vibraphone layers, watery-electro strings, and fuzz-heavy vocals intact. But outside of their music, there’s no Sonny-Cher Svengaliness, no Ike-Tina treachery, no Gainsbourg-Birkin seediness for the Luna alums, now on their second full-length as Dean & Britta.
There is, however, a lurking Lee Hazlewood–Nancy Sinatra quality to Back Numbers, beginning with the infectiously cheesy, sub-harmonic synthesizer on “Singer Sing” and ending with the honky-tonk, road-weary jangle of “Say Goodnight.” Like Sinatra did with Hazlewood, Phillips sings a few keys lower on most of the 11 tracks, with the exception of the tambourine-humping, Hazlewood cover “You Turned My Head Around,” where she confidently turns more Broadway-belter than laconic, boot-heeled floozy.
Phillips’ vocals are well-balanced with New Zealand–transplant Wareham, who pulls out some of his own tricks: swirling chords straight out of his Galaxie 500 days on “Words You Used to Say,” and brooding talk-sing on “Me & My Babies” or the balmy Troggs’ cover “Our Love Will Still Be There.” Wareham’s overall contribution on Back Numbers vibrates with a country-husky Hazlewood overtone — sans the familiar gritty booziness — while Phillips swoops over with tra-la-la-ing, uber-feminine accompaniment and a funky, boot-walkin’ bassline.
Back Numbers was recorded over the course of a week, after which Phillips and Wareham married. There’s no telling what will come out of this pair in the future, but so far, like other good musical unions, the output is organic and sexy.
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