REVIEW: The Spongetones, Where-Ever-Land (Permanent Press)
- Bill Holmes
If you're familiar with the Mersey-pop of The Spongetones, don't let the leadoff track scare you. "Forget About May" could be the closest Jamie Hoover ever gets to The Sex Pistols, and to these ears it's not a path I want to visit often. But the following tracks reaffirm my (and anyone's) theory that this great North Carolina band is still the poster child for underappreciated artists. Perhaps with this release (and the forthcoming new record on Permanent Press) things will change.
As the name would indicate, the band soaked up every pop and rock lick playing as a cover band in the early days and honed those influences into solid song writing and playing. Their first two records Beat Music and Beat And Torn), but this third release on their own label fell through the cracks in most areas. No more! The bouncy hook of "Anna" is as radio-ready as they come and sports a tasty guitar break. You can hear some classic Raspberries/Beatles hybrid sound here as well - check the vocals on the title track or the guitar break on "Since You Said". They can rock out too, sounding much like their Carolina soul mates The Woods on guitarist Patrick Walters' "Baby Boomer" (featuring some great barrelhouse piano as well). "Images" is very Todd Rundgren influenced, from the vocal method to the backwards guitar and production techniques. Where-Ever_Land found the band stretching out and experimenting beyond the sixties pop sound of their prior releases, and the results are usually very good.
This release combines the original album with two bonus studio demos ("Don't Talk Too Loud" and the Dylan/Byrds sounding "Woodstock II") along with three live tracks recorded for the World Café radio show where they sound like a very hip folk group. A solid addition to their catalogue and a must for fans.
