A cinematically rendered and relentlessly tuneful onslaught of British Invasion stomp, indie jangle, lush orch pop, and mild psychedelia--songs built to last by nerdily obsessive craftsmen with big record collections. You know: the good stuff. Their name is apt because the clear influences of both The Zombies and Andy Partridge(as in Dukes Of Stratosphere) can be found all over "The Well-Mannered Look". Echoes of The Hollies, Kinks and other circa `68 British pop bands are here, as well. " NYC`s Zombies of the Stratosphere pretty much sound like you`d expect off their name: 60s-inspired pop and psychedelia. Although one might be tempted to think they`re named after The Zombies and XTC`s psychedelic alter ego The Dukes of Stratosphear, the name actually comes from a 50s sci-fi serial. Nevertheless, Rod Argent and Andy Partridge would still be proud as these Zombies have their sound down, along with a helping of The Kinks and The Small Faces. Opener "Thrush" wouldn`t have sounded out of place on Odyssey & Oracle, while "Barber Street" and the title track nail the Ray Davies day-in-the-life-of-an-everyman narrative and sound. "Boy With The Shades" is a lushly orchestrated midtempo number that recalls The Left Banke, while "Decisions" rocks with abandon and "The Story of Your Life" has a great combination of jangle and music-hall stomp. The bottom line is that if it were 1969 and we were on Carnaby Street, these guys would be gods. Since it`s 2007, they`ll just have to settle for the admiration of discerning power poppers like you and I."-Absolute Power Pop Blog. Grade: Solid A/A-.
Thrush - mp3
Boy With The Shakes - mp3
The Story Of Your Life - mp3
This Was My Mistake - mp3 |