Thursday, September 25, 2014

CD REVIEW: The Hobbes Fanclub “Up at Lagrange” (Shelflife Records)


                Bands like The Hobbes Fanclub don’t come around often enough because as is demonstrated on “Up at Lagrange” to have this sound is not something particularly uncommon so much as that it how they execute the sound so perfectly which makes it that much more special.   In short, many bands will try and do what The Hobbes Fanclub has done here but most will fail as it is something seemingly only a select few can do this well.

                Some obvious rock band comparisons come out right away:  The Get Up Kids, Gin Blossoms, Replacements, Lovedrug, the cleaner sound of Weezer and on the sixth song I even hear some resemblance to Modern English.   But what I hear most perhaps in here is that quality of Superdrag on their perhaps most recognized album, “Regretfully Yours”.

                I only recently saw a collection of songs from John Davis (Superdrag frontman) on Bandcamp and downloaded them for free.   I thought that perhaps my initial reaction to this was based upon my having listened to Superdrag more recently, sort of an association that might not otherwise stick, but then during various parts on “Up at Lagrange” I found myself singing “Destination Ursa Major” or “I don’t even wonder if they’re gonna put me under”. 

                The fact is, it’s been a long time since Superdrag released “Regretfully Yours” and it had the impact on me that it has and so if this is going to be similar to that in a sense I’m fine with it.    Now this doesn’t have quite the same vocal qualities to it, which helps it to have its own identity for sure, but yeah, I’d say this just makes me as excited as I was when I first heard that Superdrag album and that’s pretty special right there. 






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