Much like Doug Derek and The Hoax, The Strand is another band from the early 80’s that had some success on college radio, and decided to start a come back. But in this case, rather than dig out those old tracks, the band (James Garner, John Hubbell and Bill Lasley) all tuned up the instruments in 2007 and picked up right where they left off. Okay rather than that earlier example, these guys are closer to the band Buddy Love. Fans of early Jam, Paul Collins and Stiff-era Elvis Costello will feel at home with this nostalgic, “skinny-tie” guitar pop. The songs are well produced and sound crisp and clean, with the opener “Rising Tide” lead by great songwriting and guitar work (no cheap synths here!) is easily the best song here. “Why’d You Call” is a typical 80’s throwback track, and you can make a game of guessing which songs were written recently vs. penned almost 20 years ago. Another good song is “Along for the ride” with a steady drum driven melody and guitar accents. The older tunes are okay, but the newer sounding material is better, for example the ballad “Begin Again” has a great story and piano melody. A curiosity here is “Scared Streets 1” which takes a page from The Ramones and early punk. If you wanted a glittering curiosity from another era, give this one a shot.
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