We know almost nothing about the Philadelphia two-piece American Sneakers–their minimal Myspace site features just three tracks, including a Three 6 Mafia cover that’s too cutesy/ironic for our tastes–but damned if “Finito,” with its lo-fi directness and ramshackle harmonies, isn’t a great little song. It’s what you would get if David Berman of the Silver Jews were backed by a couple of kids with a Casiotone, though with a chorus of “Oh how I wish that you would die,” sung over a bright major-key keyboard line, “Finito” is way simpler lyrically. (Berman: “You’re a tower without the bell. You’re a negative wishing well.” Etc.) The only thing we don’t like about this song is that it kind of bites Ben Folds Five’s “Song for the Dumped” with its line “I’m not bitter, I just want my bicycle back.” But we suppose that’s a common-enough post-breakup sentiment.
American Sneakers – Finito [MP3, link expired]
American Sneakers [MySpace]
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