Signal Hill Transmission “Smoking Gun”
This L.A. based four-piece returns and goes in a more pop direction, compared to the groups earlier efforts which were a alternative DIY or Roots styled. Very sharp clean commercial pop here, closer to classic Toad The Wet Sprocket on “On and Off” a super catchy single that is very welcome in replay mode on my ipod. The moody “Pause Then The Punchline” also weaves it’s way into your brain with a great chorus and lyrics. It gets even sparse on “One Way Ticket” like a Lemonheads-syled dippy-chorus that goes along and resigns itself, the lead vocal intones “I’m never gonna be what you want me to be, kid in a candy store, dream a big dream” – this is an excellent EP that does the very good job of making my mouth water for the next album. Check it out!
Signal Hill website | My Space | Itunes
Holmes “Basement Tapes EP”
Holmes has done some stellar work in the past, and now I guess he wants to let loose with something a bit different. It’s okay that the opener “Go Computer” sounds much like an old track off of a Devo album – it comes back to a great ballad in “Prove Me Wrong Again” where we here faint echos of ELO’s “Lorado Tornado” with a country twang similar to The Eels. But the most adventurous track here is a cover of Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” played as a gloomy slow dirge. It is nearly unrecognizable and yet very compelling to listen to. The ending track is closer to what Holmes last album sounds like, “Not A Political Song” with it’s catchy chorus and ironic lyrics about the end of the Bush era. It’s the highlight here with wonderful imagery of “Fat cats sitting atop a crumbling house” and “you’re history, you oughta sing along.” Most worthy and fitting, for Holmes – so when is the LP due?
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