REVIEW: Anne Summers, Very Classy (Beatville)
- Bill Holmes
A power pop trio, not a girl. With Don Fleming handling the productions chores on eleven band-penned tracks, Anne Summers retains its solid vibe as an unencumbered trio. Most songs are hummable from the get-go, and little tricks like the toy piano accenting the chorus of "Robots" help paste them into memory. Ditto the stop-and-go rhythms of "Ditch Digger". Nothing very complicated here, just forty minutes of indie-flavored pop songs that could settle comfortably in either 1979 or 2000.
The drowsy vocals on "Vitamins" will call The Smoking Popes to mind, but most of the other leads (and background vocals) are more enthusiastic. The songs themselves sound like they come from three guys weaned on college radio staples from The Jam to The Replacements, although the acoustic foundations of "Octoberfest" and "King Of Disaster" leans more towards the Waterboys/Soft Boys/ Hitchcock area. This doesn't have a shot in hell at mainstream radio, and that's a compliment. (http://www.beatville.com)
