If you ever dreamed of finding that “unknown” pop nugget in the back of the record store’s cut out bin, then Doug Derek & The Hoax will make you smile. Much like when Not Lame unearthed “The Toms” a few years ago, Doug Derek was a little known garage band from New Haven, CT during the same period (1980-81). The album is a snapshot in time of the skinny tie era of power pop similar to Paul Collins’ Beat, The Plimsouls and even Peter Case a little bit. The big “hit” here is the opening two tracks “Bobby’s Gotta Get Back To Boston” and ” I Don’t Really Like It Here” which would fit just perfectly on those DIY power pop compilations that Rhino Records made long ago. The remaining tracks are good too, another standout is “Airwaves” which almost sounds like a Rubinoos song with it’s excellent guitar breaks and earnest chorus, about a band’s rise to fame. This album would most definitely have been a hit at the time, but it fell through the cracks — until now. Enjoy!
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