One quick point before covering the return of The Easys is my wondering about Album Reviews. Just when did they become about just copying and pasting PR write ups and calling them reviews? It is happening everywhere and does for this album. Is it writer laziness or has listening to an album and writing down your thoughts become obsolete?
Little Rock's Isaac Alexander has a fine solo career. Power Pop and Pop Rock does appear on those albums, but they take on a much wider palette, but The Easys are much more about those two genres, particularly Power Pop.
And this is great Power Pop. This is the band's third album, but their last album was 2007's excellent Blood Capsule. Indeed 6 of the 10 songs here are slightly added to outtakes from that album. It is like they've never been away, this is superb Guitar Pop.
The centrepiece is the wonderful Haunt Me Again, much slower than most of what surrounds it, but a master class in writing Pop Rock and it even has a slight late 60s feel to it at times. Cemetery Nights is almost like a Revue song at times, the 80s synth that features on some other songs replaced by something more Farfisa.
Do You Know Who Murdered Me? is classic 70s UK Pop Rock of the highest order and although Take Back Hearts comes across like a jaunty Marmalade. The Thing On The Side is melancholic and moody, heartbreaking at times and out of kilter to the bouncing songs elsewhere. It also reveals the variety on display. The arrangement is exquisite.
But Guitar led Power Pop takes up most of the space and it is great at what it does. The stomp of Glitter, the Jangle of Been So Long and the Fountains Of Wayne beat of Sreanger You Meet are all winners. Framed may be the most Power Pop thing here. I really hope that we don't have to wait so long for the fourth album.
You can listen to and buy the album here.
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