Tuesday, May 1, 2007
The Junior League
Catchy (Greenleaves Sound Recordings/Retrophonics)
The Junior League’s CD is a one-man arena show, mixing Joe Adranga’s love of classic pop melodies and harmonies with Cheap Trick-grade power pop. Catchy is exactly the way I would describe the record: songs like the opener “These Tender Things” and “Would You Believe” could have as easily emerged in 1966 or 1986 as they did in 2006, while “Hear My Voice” and “The Beautiful Room is Empty” have a pained openness. Each song is brilliantly crafted, and while they bear resemblance to Adranga’s heroes The Beatles and The Monkees, they eschew any retro trappings, sounding instead timeless and immediate.
Recommended if you like: Your record collection, your new girl/boyfriend, and The Monkees, in roughly equal measures
Essential tracks: “The Beautiful Room is Empty,” “Hear My Voice,” “These Tender Things”
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