As long as there has been pop music, obviously there have been groups making hook laden bouncy pop. Sometimes it seems things don't change, with new groups replacing old groups like the eternal Menudo. The circle of pop life. Cocaina Matata. When you've heard it before, after a while you can get jaded, and you no longer get the amazing rush you felt when you first heard the Fab Four, or Paranoid, or whatever the hell it was that commanded your tiny attention span at that moment in time.
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| So sexy, it hurts...... |
On a less serious note, I've just run through The Darling Buds debut Cd for the umpteenth time, Pop Said...., and I must say it is a really great for a first album. If you have an affinity for The Bangles,The Go-Go's or Blondie, or simply catchy pop songs with big harmonies plus a little edge, they are going to be a source of enjoyment. A quartet from Newport, Wales, this little number from 1988 is a pleasure from start to finish. Led by the terrific (and beautiful) Andrea Lewis, who seems ready to take on the world with her assured vocals, the band goes from one energetic pop confection to the next. They are definitely a band of their time though, sounding similar to groups like The Primitives, nonetheless, this is a tremendously fun album. And even though it seems to be a fairly polished affair, at this point in history the studio did not become a Frankenstein's monster that overwhelms the human factor in the music.
And the Buds were a band that grew in songwriting ability and sophistication as they progressed through their all too brief three album career. But I find something refreshing in the almost Beatley youthful rush of this debut. After all in the little pop ditty Uptight, they "only wanna hold your hand". There's nothing that deep going on here folks, but that I feel no guilt in my enjoyment. In addition to Lewis on vocals, the band is comprised of Harley Farr on Guitar, Chris McDonogh on Bass, and "Bloss" on Drums.
Used copies for the Darling Buds are available used dirt cheap. If you enjoy 80's pop music in the style of the aforementioned bands I mentioned, there is no good excuse to give these guys a listen. Just another great Welsh group. Don't know what they have in the water over there, but it's getting to the point where I ought to get funding from the Welsh arts council. I know back in the Nineties in the span of a blink of an eye they tried to market Wales as a possible new Seattle. Turns out there was something to it, and noone ought to be surprised. After all, they are the California of the UK. Believe me, I've only scratched the the tip of the Welsh iceburg. And whether I am Itchy or Scratchy at the moment, I am always on the hunt for good music.
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| Popty Ping! the trademark of quality! |
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