Semion is a London-based power pop quartet fronted by Gary Ford,with a skill in Fountains of Wayne meets The Jam energy. This starts with the ringing guitars of “Rum Runner” and continues with the classic jangle of “Liverpool Sunset” and “Rubbing Alcohol”, both have a late seventies sound with great bouncing choruses. “Never Changes” has a cool dance beat with the guitars along the lines of The Ramones and The Bongos. The great chords and melodic skills really come out on the song “Honour” – and it’s my favorite on the album. And they have plenty of angry-man Ray Davies-styled observational lyrics in “Black Cloud” to go with the killer Kinks-like riffs. “Year of the Monkee” brings to mind Teenage Fanclub with it’s “ooh ooh” and multi-tracked vocals and splintering solos. They even have a song called “Jangle#1” – guess what that one sounds like? Echos of both Teenage Fanclub and Velvet Crush are also all over the albums later half with the sweet mid tempo “Another Clue” to the fuzzy guitar of “Get A Grip”. A few songs here don’t work as well melody-wise (“Transmission”), as the weaker tracks are collected at the albums end. I think most power pop fans will enjoy the spotless opening tracks and the band’s spirit and musicanship make up for any flaws here. It’s an easy album to recommend.
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