June 2022 REVIEWS

by Mike Baron

AMOEBA TEEN – Amoeba Teen (Big Stir)

Amoeba Teen’s quartet formed in the nineties, bounced from label to label, released on Kool Kat and were picked up by Big Stir. They produce infections power pop reminiscent of Throwback Suburbia and The Stanleys, and their love for Jellyfish is evident on numerous tracks, beginning with the languid, ethereal “Mainstream,” with its Beatlesque overtones, before the ebullient rhythm section takes over. “Just Not That Into You” recalls the Stanleys, which is not to say they sound like the Stanleys, but that they’re in good company. “A Good Reason Why” nails the harmonies and dynamics. There’s a hint of Nashville in “January’s” pedal steel guitar. Amoeba Teen has flirted with country before, on their acoustic Appleyard Sessions. “January” has a massive, Bonfiglio-sized hook. “Melody Told You” will remind you of Jellyfish, while “Monica Wake Up” features the type of A/B harmonies pioneered by the dBs. Sure to end up on numerous Ten Best lists.

SPYGENIUS: Jobbernowl (Big Stir)

Here comes another insanely catchy power pop band with boy/girl vocals and a boatload of Brit pop, as on “2020 Revision,” with its baroque, Fairport Conventionish bridge. “Son of the Morning, Go Man Go!” could be XTC, or Dukes of Stratosphere, save for those distinctive harmonies. Everybody sings, but it’s Ruth Rogers, and whoever she’s singing with, which gives them a distinct sound. “All That Is Solid Melts Into Air” has the sweep and grandeur of a great schooner rushing before the wind. This too has XTC adjacent structure, but an unforgettable melody all their own. “Metamorphosis” cribs Poe: “Once upon a midnight dreary, as I pondered, weak and weary, Thoughts both cynical and sneery, private fears and social theory.” The rest of the lyrics are just as wack and literate, like Shakespeare rapping.

“Of Narcissus” has the seamless texture, great hooks and bridge of The Bloodrush Hour or The Dowling Poole, two Brit bands, and “Foucalt Swings Like A Pendulum Do” is redolent of British music halls, with a certain rink-a-dink quality we’ve heard in the Kinks, Beatles, and Ringo.

NICK PIUNTI AND THE COMPLICATED MEN: Heart Inside Your Head

Nick Piunti has an instantly identifiable sound due to his voice, and his ability to craft ineffable melodies, mixing major and minor chords. He’s got that great, big-hearted Midwestern sound like Shoes or Fools Face. From the piano jangle of “My Mind” to the urgent, Cars-like bassline of the title track, he’s got it goin’ on. A hint of melancholy hovers over this record, partly in the plaintive vocals, but also in the song subjects. “I Want Everything” is reminiscent of Firetown and Ghost Particles, two Madison bands, the first featuring Butch Vig. “The Gloves Come Off” packs a punch. If you’ve heard Piunti, you know what to expect, and you won’t be disappointed.

THE GHOST PARTICLES (Artisanal)

Joyful and mournful, Ghost Particles is a mature pop band with a foot in Americana, Madisonians and former members of Firetown, The Rousers, Spooner and Emperors of Wyoming, more concerned with wisdom and depth than a quick sugar rush. Singer Phil Davis, previously of Firetown and Emperors, has a mournful, sometimes conversational delivery, not unlike Scott Miller, especially on “A Man Like Me.” Davis wrote or cowrote all these songs. Life lesson songs.

“I fall down, I get up. And I try to fill my cup. Sometimes I lose, sometimes I win for free. I don’t know what you see. Who I am, who I could be. But here you are, here you are, with a man like me.”

There’s an aquatic reverb on “Fall Sway,” and a mournful synth on “Three Things I Wanted to Tell You.” “The Darkest Hour.” co-written with Butch Vig, offers Lannie Flowers level smarts and structure. The whole record has Bob Dylan or Paul Simon level depth and an elegiac atmosphere that lingers after the songs have ended.