The Hangabouts “Illustrated Bird”
This Michigan based pop duo (John and Greg) produce a varied mixture of pop styles sure to impress. The sound is sparse and with two acoustic guitars and gentle two part harmonies. The understated opener “Love Nothing” compares well to The Cyrkle and with the repeating chorus “Come and see me, yeah anyday.” The Beatlesque “Doctor Dragon” would make a perfect companion to “Mean Mr. Mustard,” and the catchy “November” will certainly be repeating in your head. The easy going songwriting style and conversational lyrics are highly reminiscent of Fountains of Wayne or The Davenports on gems like “Go To Sleep” and “Roman Forum.”
Despite the lack of multi-layered polish, the band excels at writing tunes loaded with memorable hooks. Impressive gems like “She Hates You” and “Missing In Action” makes up for the filler here (“Right On Catherine”). I expect these guys to just keep getting better, as this album is well worth your time.
Glenn Tilbrook & Nine Below Zero “The Co-Operative”
Recommended by a popaholic reader, The Co-Operative is essentially Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze) teaming up with South London R&B band Nine Below Zero. The Co-Operative’s debut consists of five original songs, three covers, and three instrumentals. Glenn certainly sounds like he’s having fun on the pop tune “Chat Line Larry” with it’s bluesy guitar fills, and harmonica solos. Dennis Greaves does lead vocals on “A Little Misunderstanding” and its a hummable Zydeco tune.
All well and good, but Glenn really shines on the ballad “One Day I’ll Fly Away.” A harmonica lead version of The Beatles “You Never Give Me Your Money” is also a highlight. “Because” sounds like it would make a great Lenny Kravitz tune, but Nine Below Zero didn’t make it work for me. The band does a better job on the instrumentals, “After Dinner Speech” features superb instrumentation. The album has a little bit of everything, but short on hooks that kept my attention. Still it’s always great to hear Glenn, so Squeeze fans come on down!
