Similar to the Cranberries these guys are basing a lot of their sound off of the jangle pop made so popular by The Smiths. But it's a stripped down approach with a much simpler sound. That all aside it's a brilliant album from start to finish with not a bad song out of the ten. On top of that you get probably the best jangle pop single ever produced in "Here's Where the Story Ends." It never hurts to have a great single and it's surrounded by catchy, fun songs that create an infectious vibe. It's hard not to put this album on and fall into a good mood.
Like so many other bands their first album was their best. Their other two albums were both successful and quite good, but did not approach the brilliance of their first effort. This could be in part because their record label collapsed and they had to go through a big transition for their second album and because Harriet Wheeler and David Gavurin both of the band married and had a child and lost interest in being musicians. They openly talked about their third album being the result of a contract requirement and not because they wanted to continue to be The Sundays.
The Sundays - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic (1990)
1. Skin & Bones
2. Here's Where the Story Ends
3. Can't Be Sure
4. I Won
5. Hideous Towns
6. You're Not the Only One I Know
7. A Certain Someone
8. I Kicked a Boy
9. My Finest Hour
10. Joy
