Tags
Pixy Jones, Pony in the Pancake, The Burkharts, The Jack Cades, The Mike Bell Cartel, The Small Breed
There’s a fine line between imitation and inspiration, between a sixties cover band playing for beer and an act that can make the past live again. In the latter case the effect can be eerie. You know the record is new but you’d swear you heard it before. Today’s acts all reincarnate past eras of poprock like they just arrived by time machine.
From Finland The Mike Bell Cartel take us back to a psychedelic San Francisco full of fuzz box and chiming guitars on The Cartel and I. All twelve cuts are so late 1960s period perfect. “(I Can’t Live up to Your) Hallucinations” leads with psych rock lead guitar. “Wait” shifts to jangle guitars that burst in with a Searchers-like jauntiness. Or listen to how “Nothing to Give” rides its organ riff for all it’s worth. Then there’s the Bond-esque dread shrouding “No Turning Back” that is so 1966. It’s like the Electric Prunes got a come-back record. Albany New York’s Pony in the Pancake have a more dreamy sixties thing going on, where the David Byrne-ish mannered vocals offset the languid, ethereal pop melodies. This is perfectly captured on “In Dreams” and “We’ll Go Walking.” Speed up the formula on “The Rules of Love” and things sound a bit more Jonathan Richman in DIY party mode. “Mountain Dead Girl” defies its moniker, sounding sprightly in a poppy Velvets style. “There Goes Your Girl” and “There She Goes Again” have a hypnotic quality, with the latter a particularly classic-sounding bit of yearn rock. The album is In Dreams and it’s the real thing.
Who are The Burkharts you ask? A finely calibrated Beach Boys-inspired ensemble, at least on their latest EP outing. Who are The Burkharts? opens with the peppy “To Be Your Lover” and it immediately establishes the framework for what follows with breathless harmony vocals, good timey handclaps, and a lead guitar line that bounces with boundless energy. “With a Friend Like You” takes things in a more mature direction as the vocal swoops sound more poignant and tentative. From there songs shift from uptempo to ballad but never waver in their 1965 ambience. Except for the closing track “Wonderful Things,” which has a more timeless poprock quality. Really, the Wilson brothers vibe is impressive here but ultimately it’s the songs that carry this EP. Former El Goodo member Pixy Jones has released a solo album entitled Bits and Bobs that delves into late 1960s psych rock territory, minus the 20 minute guitar solos. The first three cuts on the album set the tone with their low key pop psych quality and killer hooks. The organ is a special guest star on this record, defining tracks like “Maureen Dreams No More.” But there are departures, like the decidedly Kinks-ian “The Fool,” the poppy acoustic “There’s Something Wrong,” and the country charmer “I’m Coming Home.”
Dutch band The Small Breed marry elements of sunshine pop with 1960s British pop psychedelia on Remember a Dream. Opening cut and title tack “Remember a Dream” conjures up a scene like the Turtles jamming with the Moody Blues. “Picturesque Pictures” carries this forward, leaning on flute and haunting harmony vocals. Other tracks are bit more straight up sixties poppy, like “She’s So Lovely.” “To Another Land” even sounds like a bit of Merseyside has slipped into the psychedelic mix. “Wanda Your Angel” reminds me of the kind of retro workout Andy Partridge excelled at. But the album stand-out track is undoubtedly “Mirror Man” with its knock-out chorus. This one is more in should-be hit single territory and less anchored to the broader sixties influences that define the rest of the record. Working the party side of the sixties street The Jack Cades evoke a sweaty underground club vibe on Something New. You can definitely put on your dancing shoes for the band’s electric remake of the Velvet’s “Temptation Inside Your Heart” and the rollicking “Tommy” and “Candy Cane.” There’s a garage rock feel to what’s going on here but it’s just a feeling because the band can clearly play some pretty smooth, sophisticated material too. “Chasing You” and “Angelica” are wonderfully evocative, atmospheric sixties psych pop. Title track “Something New” is something special too. The lead guitar work is captivating while the vocal is pure Lou Reed cool.
You don’t need to warm up the Tardis to get that authentic sixties feeling music-wise. You can just click on the acts featured above. They know how to put the past into your present.
Photo courtesy Mark Amsterdam Flikr collection.