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The Apples in Stereo are probably the most straightforward of the E6 bunch. Which is just fine when you write sterling pop songs. I suspect that if '60s jangle pop hadn't existed, guys like these would probably have invented it. Give me angelic bah-bahs and a chorus full of burly horns, and I'm a happy Songblague.
Shopworn as it may be, the Lennon-McCartney paradigm actually suits The dB's (Decibels, not Doobie Brothers), albeit with a new wave twist. Chris Stamey is the arty, angular one with the whiny voice; Peter Holsapple is the pop craftsman with the rootsy bent. They come from opposite sides of the tracks, but together, they're gonna clean up this town! Umm, I mean their songs alternate with a rare elegance, like cars merging symmetrically from two lanes to one without even a hint of horn honking. Umm, whatever on that too. Anyway, this one is Holsapple's, and it may be his best—two minutes of everything done right.
Mitch Easter, that is. The man at the controls for some of the best jangle pop made in the 1980s. Let's Active was his own super hook-laden group. Their first EP and full-length are essential. It's a shame that they never got the fame that went to his buddies in REM. And these kids had a much better band name too. This track is sunshine and a full tank of gas.
The Apples in Stereo are probably the most straightforward of the E6 bunch. Which is just fine when you write sterling pop songs. I suspect that if '60s jangle pop hadn't existed, guys like these would probably have invented it. Give me angelic bah-bahs and a chorus full of burly horns, and I'm a happy Songblague.
Shopworn as it may be, the Lennon-McCartney paradigm actually suits The dB's (Decibels, not Doobie Brothers), albeit with a new wave twist. Chris Stamey is the arty, angular one with the whiny voice; Peter Holsapple is the pop craftsman with the rootsy bent. They come from opposite sides of the tracks, but together, they're gonna clean up this town! Umm, I mean their songs alternate with a rare elegance, like cars merging symmetrically from two lanes to one without even a hint of horn honking. Umm, whatever on that too. Anyway, this one is Holsapple's, and it may be his best—two minutes of everything done right.
Mitch Easter, that is. The man at the controls for some of the best jangle pop made in the 1980s. Let's Active was his own super hook-laden group. Their first EP and full-length are essential. It's a shame that they never got the fame that went to his buddies in REM. And these kids had a much better band name too. This track is sunshine and a full tank of gas.
