...it’s not like they’ve just stolen a Roger McGuinn guitar line and ran with it (as say The Hives have done with a bunch of The Kinks’ material). Well actually they have.
http://www.therollotreadway.com/
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I’m going to get this out of the way quick. This will remind you of The Byrds and any other band that existed in the 1960’s and experimented with LSD. In fact, this sounds so much like a product of that era that it begs the question, “Why should I bother listening to this when I’ve already got the stuff that was actually made back then?” I’m not quite sure how to answer that at the moment. Let’s think about it for a while.
So what is this album like? Remember when The Coral arrived on the scene with a bag full of old ideas and a complete lack of respect for any of them? Well this debut isn’t quite as exciting as that one, David Sandholm’s vocals are far too twee and sugary for a start, but it’s not like they’ve just stolen a Roger McGuinn guitar line and ran with it (as say The Hives have done with a bunch of The Kinks’ material). Well actually they have, but at least they’ve thrown a bunch of sparkly keyboards on there as well. It’s so 1960’s the record company would even like you to think this is some sort of concept album, but I’m not entirely sure about that. Sure, a couple of children get kidnapped in the first song, but there’s no real narrative here to follow – or at least not one that I cared enough to take any notice of.
In the end, it sounds like what Brian Wilson would come up with if asked to write Hansel and Gretel the musical. It’s sweeter than a bowl full of strawberries and sunnier than an Egyptian summer but to be honest, you’ll still be better off listening to Eight Miles High.