Redondo Beat “Meet Redondo Beat”
Hailing from a little village in Germany, Roman Aul had a talent for pure pop with a classic early 60’s style. With the help of backing vocalist Katrin Meinert and drummer Max Schneider they formed Redondo Beat. The solid retro pop sounds like a collection of lost 45s by Dion & The Belmonts, Bobby Fuller and Eric Burdon. The opener “The Sweetest Sound” has great guitar opening and bouncy beat like The Dave Clark Five.”The Spell I’m Under” is clearly influenced by early 60’s icon Del Shannon, and so goes our trip down memory lane.
While this is a very solid nostalgic exercise, some song compositions just aren’t that memorable, with the exception of where they inject some R&B influence like on “Break-a-Heart” and the very catchy “My Baby (Knows How To Have A Good Time).” Toward the albums second half we seem to hit the late fifties with Duane Eddy (“Full Moon Child”) and Danny & The Juniors (“Shoop Shoop”). This is certainly a lot of fun, so fans of those moldy oldies can rejoice here. The rest of you young’uns can get off my lawn!
The Sterling Loons “March To The Tune”
If you mixed Hendrix, The Kinks and Syd Barrett in a blender you could get The Sterling Loons. Lead by guitarist Eamon Nordquist, he belts out the opener “Old Nick” and then we are treated to loose concept album, similar to Shnauser with multiple melody lines and finely crafted guitar solos. “Morning Sunshine” is a trippy delight, and “March To The Tune” brings to mind The Kinks classic period. Another highlight is the strong composition and harmonies on “Hope She’ll Get Away Part 1.” It gets better with the impressive Steve Howe-like guitar work on “Beauty Eyeing The Beholder” but Eamon’s vocals don’t always hit the mark here. The absurdist “She’s Happy” and “All Aboard” are warped Who styled tunes and other highlights include “Spaceman” and “Half Of All The People.” The mix of mod pop and heavy prog may not sit well with some, but there is much here to savor and appreciate.
