This 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 worry about, particularly "Hey, Girl," "So Tell Me," and "You Told Me So." The surf tunes, particularly "Jupiter in My Rearview Mirror," "Tilting the Windmills," and "Johnny-come-lately" are great, and this is where these guys excel - perfect for setting your feet moving or a beach blanket party straight out of the late fifties.
Thee Spivies state that they're, "here with the sole intention of charming you right out of your socks." These guys succeed in gaining my interest and I certainly want to see them in concert, they could be a blast. Thee Spivies' style is incomparable with anything else around right now. Looking for something new? This might be it.
3 tocks
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 1997Reviewed by Josh Spencer"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…Similar sounding releases
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