Formed in 2000 by singer/guitarist Dennis Mitchell (no, not “the menace” of comic strip/TV show fame, though he once fronted a band called Dennis Mitchell and The Wilsons, who released two cassette LPs in the early 1990s!) and guitarist Craig Stahr, this Portland, OR outfit is joined on this fifth LP by bassist Scott San Filippo and drummer Curt Schulz — no relation to the beloved Peanuts creator, we presume? — who markedly tighten up their sound over 2017’s Another Moment in Time.
With Mitchell’s satisfying pipes blending Ray Davies and Edwyn Collins, the bubbly, optimistic “Action Painting,” the jocular, uproarious “Staying in a Commune” (which is based on a true story; Mitchell and San Filippo met in one, narrowly escaping when a rendition of Wilson Pickett’s 1965 #21 “In the Midnight Hour” distracted the crowd, their bio says), and the jaunty, resigned “Sunday Afternoon in the Park” combine lighter power pop with Kinks-inspired ‘60s rock.
For more of that Kinks/Davies influence, see the “All Day and All of the Night”-flecked “Quality of Life” or the “Big Sky”-shaded “Whatever Sets You Free.” But all 11 songs, from the Them “Gloria”-tinged “Time is Absurd” to the Damned “Fan Club”-beckoning “Wild and Carefree” to the Byrds “Thoughts and Words”-evoking “New Roses,” do the business.
The Quags: Bandcamp | Facebook
Braxeling Records: Bandcamp | Facebook
