All great events in history are met with an argument. Whether or not you agree with the events of say, The Bay of Pigs, or The War of 1812, the fact remains that both of these events have their relevance in history (hence the capitalization).Another stellar event that altered the course of history was a little band from Liverpool who came about in the early sixties and absolutely tore it up. You can hate ‘em, you can have creepy sex fantasies about what you’d do if you were alone in a room with Paul, whatever your opinion, The Beatles carved a notch in the proverbial bedpost of rock music that you have to look at every time you lay down with your all-time favorite pop record for a night of hot rockin’.
Let’s hear it for the A-Sides, some Philadelphian boys who have taken a cue from their musical forebears and created some of the shiniest pop to grow from the cracks of the scene lately.
Serving up a hot slice of musical sunshine with cheery arrangements, bouncy beats, and some of the most pleasing harmonies i’ve heard in a while, these boys have definitely taken a dip in the Liver-puddle. In the song “I’ll Come Around“, a majestic little track driven by a simplistic piano about a reluctant driver going to see his lady love. It moves with pomp and sweetness and an innocent little sentiment, with lead vocalist John Barthmus singing “Don’t let my hangups bring you down”. This type of lyrical ease rolls along at face value, just a tidy little song with an end refrain of “maybe life is better/at sixty miles an hour”. Barthmus’ vocals are buoyant and calm, and with the rest of the band filling in on backing vocals throughout their album “Hello, Hello” it’s a solid effect.
This kind of charming song shows a strength of character in a band. These days, a lot of musicians think people will only take them seriously if they pen moving songs of great lyrical depth and overbearing emotional intensity. See, these are the folks who have forgotten their popfathers! Look at songs like Yellow Submarine, or to a lesser extent Octopus’ Garden. These are songs that upon first listen show no illusion as to what they are. And yet, who could forget these songs? They weave themselves into your subconscious. Hell, I’ve been singing ‘em all day. And this is not to say that The A-Sides hold absolutely no lyrical relevance, but they know you don’t have to oversell your pitch to get people to love it.
On tracks like “Sidewalk Chalk” and “Jump Back Jack”, guitarist Charlie Cottone brings to mind some of the best mod-era guitarists such as Dave Davies and early Pete Townshend. It jumps and jitters with that frenetic rawness that modern retro-philes like World Party have tackled and ascertained. meanwhile, the keys of Christopher Doyle evoke the same bubbly sounds of those days long gone. As for the rythm section, bassist Mike Flemming and drummer Patrick Marsceill lay on that concrete beat, but in other, more sonically spacious songs like “Here or There”, the drums let loose with thicker and more fragmented beats, with a steady bass line pinning it all down.
There’s a sense of particular familiarity upon hearing the song “Only Michelle”.The beat is practically a carbon-copy of “Tomorrow Never Knows” off of Revolver, and even Barthmus’ refrain evokes a bit of McCartney in the way he sings “Mee-shell”, but don’t let that put you off. to pay homage in any way, shape or form is far different than full-on plagiarism, such as Coldplay’s blatant rip-offs of Kraftwerk and Kate Bush. The bits and pieces that do seem to come together from somewhere else are far outshined by the fresh glimmer of musicians who can make pop come naturally.
To say I expect good things of these cats would be bad research. The A-Sides are doing pretty damn well for themselves, getting airplay on various tv programs and playing with rock icons new and old like The Flaming Lips and Cheap Trick. Recently, due to “lack of funds”, they were bailed on by an unnamed record company. Being a band of strong resolve, they kept right on it, vowing to make their own damn record knowing full well that good music is good music and will get the recognition it deserves in spite of a distribution deal.
The determination of people playing great music for the sake of great music gives one the feeling of hope and happiness, the kind of happiness that makes you say “I dunno, I just feel good today.” Thanks guys.
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July 22nd, 2006 at 6:10 pm
I like it!
July 28th, 2006 at 8:08 am
your next article should be on Coldplay…all about the wonders of Coldplay. I wish Coldplay could be at my next birthday party. We all need a little Martinesque introspection in our lives