The Big Pink, with A Place To Bury Strangers at the Bottleneck

The operative word with the Big Pink is love. The band’s 2009 debut was titled, rather charmlessly, A Brief History of Love. That record’s lyrics are as gushy as they are simple, bordering on cornball. The lead singer also has an embarrassing penchant for Bono-isms, including pumping his fist during his own songs. Yes, we’re talking about a band that’s both unfailingly romantic and unabashedly stadium-minded. And what the Big Pink is really in love with is neither woman nor drug but rather the love song itself.