So Brian McClelland of power poppers The Maxtone Four is part of this favorite St. Louis band. The album collects tunes written and recorded between 2004 and 2007 with different styles of rock and pop sounds. The band has mastered the art of the perfect pop song here and even though the band is lead by songwriter guitarist Tom Stephens — everybody sings on the album. Starting with the group harmonies on “Your Buzz is Safe with Me Tonight” it soars and the hook sticks like glue. Sung by female lead Marcia Pandolfi, “Oh Keith” and “Cocksure” give us a very nice pair of Liz Phair-styled pop songs, but my favorite here is the irresistible jangle on “Your Love is Hot” with a Monkees meets Byrds melodic chorus. Each song has multiple layers of pop hooks, more highlights being “Dear Former Baby” and “Cool Bad Cherry” which bring to mind the best efforts of The Minus Five and The DB’s. And I dare you not to sing along with the fist pumping anthem “F___king A Right!” Also I was super impressed by the albums closer “Suburban Girl” which lets the groups Beatlesque flag fly high. Most of the total fourteen tracks here are true rock and pop bliss. Enjoy!
Ah, the curse of the spellcheck. It’s fixed now.
Monkees, not Monkeys (unless there is audible poo-slinging on the album). 🙂