Review – Pop Beloved 1

Review – “Pop Beloved”. Gina Arnold. Entertainment Weekly, June 7, 1991 p60(2).

My idea of heaven is plopping myself down in a hammock in the backyard, putting a straw in a can of soda pop, and pretending I’m in Texas on a lazy summer’s day. In my imagination, you see, Texas is a place full of dragonflies, cicadas, and way more than its share of creaky wood porch swings. Of course, my imagination has been warped by its great love of the Reivers, a gentle, unambitious, two-guy-two-girl Austin-based rock band whose songs are steeped in the sounds of a hot afternoon. On songs like “Breathin’ Easy,” “Chinatown,” and “Other Side” from their fourth LP, Pop Beloved, songwriter John Croslin sympathetically evokes the miniscule pleasures within the boredom of everyday life. His songs are always lit by the lovely soaring harmonies of singer and guitarist Kim Longacre entwining with Croslin’s more even-keeled bass voice, and sometimes, while I’m lying in my hammock, I amuse myself by debating with myself about which singer’s voice I like better. But I haven’t come to a decision yet, so I guess I’ll just have to put the album on again.