Penelope’s Thrill – L&C Eternally
Writing a sunny, pleasant, 60s sounding rock-tune is as difficult as landing the perfect joke at a funeral. Sure, it can happen and when it does just about everyone feels lifted by it. But, few can pull it off, and those that attempt it usually end up with yolk on their faces.
Through the relatively long history of rock music, the 60s possess a kind of mystical image. Sure, there was a lot of hippie crap music too, some poor knockoffs, and questionable fashion choices involved. But, it was also a decade where so much great, hopeful music seemed to arrive effortlessly and earnestly. Writers were reaching for your heart, not your dollar, for the most part.
Timothy Walsh’s Penelope’s Thrill is able to summon the spirit of the 60s through their sunny, kitchen-sink drama of L&C Eternally. It’s a tune that glistens and thrills, featuring convincing playing seemingly lifted straight off a record made in that fabled decade. And, to top things off, it features a very rare treat, a genuine tuba solo.
Multibeam – Dimitri
For better, or probably much worse, rock n’ roll could just as well be the history of the fluctuation of the public’s love of chemical refreshments. The kind that Multibeam, or their desert-rock/indie-disco influences seem to enjoy are far removed from the ones the harmless hippies favoured, or the ones that reduced the original punks to sacks of useless bones.
Nah, just like Queens of the Stone Age and their offshoot Eagles of Death Metal, Multibeam sound like folks who’ve crashed the disco-tent on more than a few occasions. Their music is trippy but anchored in grooves as fertile for dancing as the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever.
Dimitri is a track built on radio hooks and big, danceable hooks. It’s the kind of song to serve as an excuse for even the sweatiest of rockers and coolest hipsters to shake something loose on the dancefloor. It’s party rock music, and there should be more of this around.
