The Tearaways - DW Hofner, Martin Gibson, Ludwig Rickenbacker, Earle Hammond & Vox Fender, ESQ

Santa Barbara's The Tearaways have been around for a good while and have been to Liverpool many times. Although they are very much lovers all things Merseybeat, they've been unfairly lumped in with Power Pop from that era. Here they prove how inaccurate that comparison is, the new album is very much in the Pop Rock mould of great Seventies and Early Eighties vintage.

There's been some real thought put into the songs, providing variance and wit. There's a lot here and it doesn't always work, but largely it succeeds because of the energy and joy that the whole album transmits.




This isn't a two bit affair either. Any band with Clem Burke on drums has to be taken seriously and Earle Mankey is involved in the Production. These guys are serious and what they've produced is a mixture of good time sounds with real melody and they've taken chances. All in all, admirable and refreshing.

If I Had It is the sort of call and response song that The Proclaimers do so well, My Bad has a real ache to a sort of Bo Diddley beat before expanded into some great harmonies. That's Rock is like a harmonic update of the Only Fools And Horses theme.





Much Too Old To Feel This Young has a country feel, but in Labelled With Love Squeeze mode. Good Luck Lovin' is a shuffle, I'm Just Trying To Be Nice sounds really Badfinger. Name That Tune is the nearest to Merseybeat that you are gonna find here, but it's more like The Searchers when they became part of the late 70's UK New Wave.

One of the things I'd heard in the past from The Tearaways was an inspired cover of The Ramones' Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio. It was done in a jaunty Power Pop way with Brass and worked beautifully. This sums up what the band are about really and this offering is a really good listen.

The whole album is a fun packed thing and when I bemoan the likes of Coldplay and their miserable sound it's because of albums like this. Let it show that you are enjoying it and the listeners will too. This ticks all the boxes. The only thing that I'm not sure about is the title, something different, but a bit of a mouthful.






You can listen to and buy the album here.

The Overtures - Once In A World

 

Being so close to Liverpool, I come across a lot of  Merseybeat /  early Beatles cover bands and so they become just a tad tedious. However, The Overtures are on a different level to the meat and potatoes of every day outfits, in that they are fantastic at what they do. Covering the gamut of 60's UK Beat, their shows are a fun packed, singalong , nostalgic pleasure. They master the genre.

They've also overcome another problem here. In the band's fourth decade, they release their first album of original songs and it is really rather good. The problem when artists write their own songs in this style, they come across in one of two ways or even worse, both. Songs can either be so cliched, like for instance The Tearaways who seem to be covering the whole range of artists or genres for their song titles. 

The other problem can be image.  Suit, Beatles Haircut, Rickenbacker in hand, perma-smile from the likes of Johnathan Pushkar just become a yawn fest leading to Karaoke Beatles comparisons. Thankfully, this UK five piece have avoided both issues. This is a really pleasant listen, beautifully executed and professionally done.

This is helped by the vocalist and songwriter being Den Pugsley from one of the most underrated 80's Power Pop bands, The Pencils. There's a lot of jangle here and it is really good. At times I'm reminded of The Searchers a lot, but even more of Liverpool Express.

The band master that early to mid 60's sound, but they are even better when they veer from that course. Still On The Mind is a beat driven, brass accompanied joy, Red Dolls House is a cracking slice of 60's Beat and the stand out, Watching The Grass Grow is a wonderful Toytown Psych Pop affair. The latter really is a revelation.

I approached the album with trepidation, thinking that I knew exactly what I was gonna get. I deserve a slap for my prejudice. Well done The Overtures, this is a great listen. Few can do this type of stuff this well.

You can buy the album at the band's website here or from Ray at Kool Kat here.

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