Lost Patrol Band - s/t

Classic old school mid/late 90`s indie power pop sounds here! Swedish dudes who bring 10 tight, taut, sharp gems here, right at 30 minutes. Perfect! Old school! Check this out you over 40 pop freaks...reminds us of The Sinceros, Gary Myrick, The Secrets, The Producers and The Romantics. Post-skinny tie new wave power pop that could have walked straight out of the year 1980, so much so that if this project just dropped off onto my desk, I would have guessed a long lost gem from this time that I missed. The only hint of a modern-day project would be that the guitar sound on a few songs has a more modern sound. "4 1/2 stars.. he Lost Patrol is (International) Noise Conspiracy front man Dennis Lyxsn`s side project and The Lost Patrol Band is their third, and best, release. On it the group make a move away from the low-key, somewhat ramshackle charms of the first two releases and embrace a full-on rock & roll sound. Made with a steady band instead of a collection of friends and colleagues, the record sounds like it was bashed out in the best sweat-filled teen dance club in Sweden (or anywhere else for that matter). Steady as steel, the sound almost never wavers from a classic two guitars, bass, drums, and organ attack, though there are some neat background vocals and the occasional cheesy synth to break things up. One might miss the intimacy and sonic adventurism of the previous albums, but the energy and hooks here should ease the sting. Tunes like the rock-solid "Golden Time," "Pick Me Up," "Let Me In," and the wall-shaking rocker that kicks things off, "Feels Like Drowning," walk the narrow line between new wave revivalism and the late-`70s AOR pop sound of groups like Cheap Trick, the Romantics, and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Not the hippest Heartbreakers to emulate, perhaps, but the result is very envigorating and sometimes, as on the, well, heartbreaking "My Heart Is Still a Mess" and "Can`t Stand the Quiet," breathtaking in a dancing until you are ready to pass out kind of way. It seems a sure bet that the record will sink without a trace, but you`ll be hard-pressed to find a more melodic and spunkier 30 minutes of rock & roll made in 2005."-AMG.