Thee American Revolution – Buddha Electrostorm

I’m sure if this got played a lot on the radio it’d do really well, it’s not far off Dandy Warhol territory to be honest and I’d certainly rather listen to this on my transistor radio during my shift. Or maybe I’m getting my knickers in a twist. I’ll just enjoy it and keep playing it for now.

Fire Records – http://www.konkurrent.nl

I’m not sure how long I’ll play this record in the months and years to come but for now I like it, lots. It’s strange, as this record is full of good, gutsy tunes that win you over in a trice, but essentially you sense this is throwaway indie rock, content to have a brief and witty hurrah before being consigned to the vaults and discovered twenty years’ hence. Or maybe not as this record already deals with reheating sounds from 60’s garage rock and ‘80s college underground; a sort of heavy, sludgy Camper Van sound which is totally fine, but then it just makes me want to get Nuggets or my CVB records out.

As to the record itself; you can tell this is the work of some clever and experienced musicians: it is after all a reissue from 2009 – and a side project from one of The Apples in Stereo – Robert Schneider. The arrangements strike the right balance between being scuzzy and immediately accessible, as with the slobby opener She’s Going Down and the pop-tastic riffing of Electric Flame, Shoeshine Blues and Power House. And there are some heavy pop tunes that could be from The Move or The Kinks too; (Blow My Mind and In Your Dreams/Japanese Clone). It’s deftly played and brilliantly pitched throughout, and there’s cheek and charm aplenty – it’s good to see Deep Purple’s bombast turned into something daft but ultimately I suppose it shows the inherent fragility of just having good catchy songs and just referencing good antecedents.