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One of the advantages of never being more than a tiny cult act is that when your catalog is rediscovered, it doesn’t carry the stench of nostalgia. So it is with Human Switchboard, a Cleveland new wave act (with ties to the late 70s/early 80s New York scene) whose work sounds as fresh now as the latest indie sensation’s. Basing itself around Human Switchboard’s lone 1981 album, the collection adds various studio, demo and live sessions for a fairly comprehensive portrait.
Mixing the energetic thrust of postpunk with the ringing melodicism of jangle pop, singer/songwriters Bob Pfeifer and Myrna Marcarian and drummer Ron Metz (plus various bass players) load Who’s Landing in My Hangar? up with guitar-driven, Farfisa-laced angular pop gems. Romantic and personal tensions abound in “Don’t Follow Me Home,” “(I Used to) Believe in You” and the title track; the unfolding, confessional “Refrigerator Door” adroitly mixes melodic appeal with voyeuristic discomfort. “When the Light Breaks” conjures up dread through Marcarian’s sweet voice, while “(Say No to) Saturday’s Girl” takes more obvious advantage of her gifts. Non-album tunes like “In My Room,” “I Gotta Know” and “Shy About You” continue the band’s dance with perpetual nervousness, though “Shake It Boys” cuts back the anxiety for a 60s-style garage rock party jam. Who’s Landing in My Hangar? is a welcome summary of a band no longer lost in the wake of their better-known contemporaries.
