Reviewed by Robert Sliger / LISTENING POST DISCOVERY
Released: 1980
Yipes!!
A Bit Irrational
Genre: Power Pop
Rating: 4 out of 5
Highlights:
I Can See You’re In Love
Magic
Darlin’
(I Can Hardly) Wait For Night
Influences = The Knack, Marshall Crenshaw, Elvis Costello, and the Cars with a pinch of Cheap Trick.
This turned out to be a great party/road album: bouncy, loud, fun, and catchy as hell. I don’t hear a lot of pop-rock albums that hurtle forward with such energetic abandon. It’s like a speeding train careening down the track, threatening to derail but kept in place through musical competence and sheer will. These guys really went for the top-40 the way The Knack did, but weirdly didn’t make it.
Because of the fine consistent tone and quality of each song, I’ll sum up all of them this way: Every song here is a short, easy listen with the kind of bouncy energy of Rick Springfield’s “Jesse’s Girl” and Elvis Costello’s “Radio, Radio.” The posted video album isn’t complete, as it cuts out at “Ballad of Rudolf Kaiser (Einstein)” in the first 20 seconds. Too bad: that one, like so many others here, sounded like a real banger.
(Ed. Note: the YouTube video cutting off the last three tracks sucks huge ass. This is a great album. I did find the last track, Heartbreak Again, which, imho, is another highlight!! See below to listen.)
A Bit Irrational follows the reliable power-pop formula to a T: super catchy melodies, performed fast and tight with well-arranged harmonies, lots of jangly, bright guitars and pounding drums. It leans hard on propulsive and fun.
On first listen, I came away feeling the album was too derivative to be a Discovery Pick, but on second listen, I got swallowed up into the endless hooks, strong production value, and addictive energy, so I’m going to call this a Discovery Pick. It may not be for those with more austere, intellectually-demanding tastes, but for those who want to have a good time, it’s well worth a loud listen the next time you have like-minded friends over for a barbecue or attack your favorite back country road (preferably with the top down, if you got a convertible).
YouTube - Track 12, Heartbreak Again, can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqckFgDuQVo Missing 2 tracks - Ballad Of Rudolf Kaiser (Einstein) and Kiss Me
No comments:
Post a Comment