The song certainly sounds like by-the-numbers power pop, and it is by-the-numbers power pop. A run-of-the-mill jangly beat accompanies your run-of-the-mill jangly guitar overdub. And the song is a kiss-off to someone (the band’s agent, perhaps, or manager) who stabbed someone else in the back. What lifts the tune, though, is the sweetness of the melody and the cuteness of the central vocal, both of which overtake the poison pen letter of the lyrics. And as a number that sounds like it could have been on an early Cars album—except it’s not as taken with alienation as Ric Ocasek would ever permit—it really does bring 1966 into the new wave.
The Records – Starry Eyes
– April 12, 2015Posted in: Mainpage, Music, Song Review
