"That Thing You Do," anyone? I suppose this is about as retro as you can get with rock-n-roll -- Thee Spivies reviving early 60s pop/rock and surf instrumentals and doing it pretty well at that, with those cheesy, smiley vocals and background harmonies, jangly guitars, and muddled drums (the drummer uses the same kit he's had since he was 10, and he's almost bald already....). Everything's upbeat, catchy, and cheerful, with love and girls being the most common lyric topic. The instrumental surf tunes are by far my choice tracks, exhibiting totally authentic tones, but the whole album is pretty nifty.
Anyone looking for something different (but not new) to dance to should give Thee Spivies a spin. After a while, I suspect it'll become a rarely-played novelty album for me, but for now it's got my head bobbing.
3.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 1997Reviewed by Shari LloydThis release could be titled The Partridge Family meets the 90's. Here we have music that sounds like early Beatles combined with the pop-punk of the 90's. Most of the harmonies are very rough. Initially I thought it sounded terrible, but each listen finds the band growing on me. The lyrics go back to that seemingly carefree period of the early 60's when there was only whether a girl liked you to…Similar sounding releases
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