The Resonars-Electricity Plus

  

When it comes to Resonars reviews there are always the requisite mentions of the Hollies swirling about. However, Matt Rendon brings in a large array of influences that are as deep as the copper mines and wide as the cinematic horizons of Southern Arizona. There is probably a good chance that the Captain Nemo album by the Sundowners has been in his collection for years along with Columbia 45s by the Black Sheep, who were the psych-pop pride of La Cañada Flintridge, CA in 1966-67. On Electricity Plus, the Hollies do remain a major component along with an affinity for the Beach Boys and Raspberries when it comes to vocal harmonies. I also detect as an oft-overlooked, but slight Tommy James influence on the lead vocals. The surging instrumentation continues to draw upon the searing sounds of the Yardbirds and the flash of the Who with subliminal embellishments provided by countless stacks of records from across continents, genres and decades. 

Pleasant and Enjoyable

Rendon has long cracked the code on succinct psychedelic garage pop by funneling his influences into indelible songs of 2-3 minutes that are entirely his own.  On tracks 3 and 4, the record settles in and hums along in typical Resonars fashion. “Spidery Light” has that jolly Roger McGuinn-ish cadence, while “Sure As Shooting”  abounds with their signature big hooks, catchy choruses and soaring harmonies. Another Resonars album to go along with “No Exit” from 2019 and 2020’s “Disappear” would have been most welcomed in the context of a world that has long knocked itself way out of balance, however it’s something else to be caught by complete surprise with Electricity Plus.  

Detour

“One Nobody Knows” instantly placed a big smile on my face with its slight disco beat and its entirely new direction for a Resonars song. It’s the catchiest and possibly the most ambitious song of this decade and provides liftoff for the entire album. Imagine the Three Degrees meeting the Wondermints under the management and direction of Eric Carmen before Shel Talmy stops by Rendon’s Midtown Island recording studio to discuss the proper incorporation of strings. “One Nobody Knows” is a faithful vow to ‘70s AM Top 40 that is not only powerful pop, but also soulful perfect pop. This defining moment evokes the same sunniness as riding in my parents' 1968 Javelin with the big WIBC Indianapolis continually playing “Don’t Rock the Boat” by the Hues Corporation and “Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain & Tennille.

Stealing the Show

The propulsive percussion continues on “Easy to Be Found” with harmonies that radiate out in all directions and commands attention with its guitar-driven glory.  The innovative “At Journey’s End” is an entirely new sonic structure erected between the experimentation of Butterscotch Cathedral, the blazing Crummy Desert Sound and the ramshackle eclecticism of the second Leaves album. Perhaps all this adventurousness was inspired by Rendon returning to tour Spain in fall of 2023.  Bring on the Gregorian chant next time around!

Tucson Modernisme

For those who have been listening since the ‘90s, Rendon has retooled, reimagined and reconceptualized his already successful approach. In other words, Rendon had erected new walls of guitars and dig-dugged tunnels of sound that connect the ‘60s and his previous releases to this still undefined age of the mid-20s. With this trio of songs, he has cleared an already high bar, while providing a countervailing sound in response to this current era of constant distraction.  

 

Sealing the Win

The album then gets heavy in a good way, while maintaining its forward momentum. “It’s the Same” needs both a voltmeter and seismometer with the taut and coiling guitars and earth-shaking percussion. “Little Grey Man” melds “It Can Happen” by Yes (Yes, I wrote that)  and “La La La” by the Cavedogs topped off by a dash of MC5’s “Looking at You," while the drilling guitars create new subterranean passages. The album arrives at its destination with the brilliant “I’ll Get By” which could be described as the Gants or the Knickerbockers incorporating a clave rhythm.

Above All

Rendon has taken his own route away from the path of least resistance, which leads him to explore different hues, gradiations and dynamics on Electricity Plus. The highly-attuned musician is steeped in multiple eras and across a vast expanse of sonic projects. In fact, make sure you see and hear his formidable drumming for the Freezing Hands. Nine albums are extremely hard to make without repeating oneself to eventually diminishing returns.  All of the previous Resonars recordings are essential for reaching this current peak. Equally important, Redon also displays the “Pet Sounds” courage to break away from what has successfully worked in the past. He proves his sounds are still open to experimentation and further advancement. By going into the unknown and doing something he has not previously done, it has allowed Rendon to surpass all expectations.

Label Design by Jason Willis

Favorites of 2023

 1. Cut Worms-Cut Worms

2. Freezing Hands-Empty The Tank

3. The Feelies-Some Kinda Love
Performing the Music of The Velvet Underground

4. Uni Boys-Buy This Now!

5. Logan Ledger-Golden State

6. The Highmarts-World Tour

7. The Long Ryders-September November

8. The Wrong Society-Down With

Reissues & Collections

1. Leroy Fullylove and the Tads-Your Reason

2. Astrud Gilberto-Now

Freezing Hands-Empty the Tank

Current Phase If you need to get up to speed with Freezing Hands, now’s the time as the wheels are already spinning on Empty the Tank. Their fourth proper album continues their course, while also capturing their forward momentum and revealing new factets. Like the lightning quick album releases of the mid-sixties, this has surprisingly arrived shortly after 2022’s It Was a Good Run. With its similar themes, constant through-lines and overall continuity, Empty the Tank could even be considered conceptually as a Double Album, in the grand ‘70s tradition, when paired with its immediate predecessor. They have definitely honed their sound and once again found their distinctive spot between pop, punk and rock 'n’ roll. In addition to delivering memorable hooks, melodies and harmonies last heard in the late ‘70s power-pop heyday of the Nerves, 20/20 and the Beat, they also venture into '60s pastoral pop that somehow connects Tucson’s sunny Reid Park and parking lots to the Zombies’ "Beechwood Park" through the mists of the Kinks’ “Village Green.”

Giving the Youngsters a Run for their Money Uni Boys and the Reflectors from Southern California and the Whiffs from Kansas City are currently leading power-pop into Century 21. All of these combos feature 1979-ish radio-ready melodies and a compressed sound that is laced as tight as Shoes. In contrast, Freezing Hands are able to add a spaciousness in their sound made by lived experience, years of work and exposure to a wider range of influences. Musically, their harmonies are able to give their sound an expansiveness that matches their panoramic Tucson surroundings. On the production side, their latest is once again presented in suitable mid-fi stereo and bears the production trademarks of Midtown Island Studio. 

Dateland Records Recording Stars

They project a rare symmetry in their sound. However, the abundant hooks, harmonies and melodies bely and contrast with the lyrics. Underneath the hood are daring, intricate and integrated lyrics, steeped in the Kinksian tradition and not afraid of addressing the state of oneself, Tucson and the world.  Moreover, the lyrics do not expect, nor receive any answers.

"When We Get to Tucson You'll See Why" ("Thumbelina" by the Pretenders) Perhaps some of their sonic vastness and lyrical depth can be attributed to the symbiotic relationship between Tucson and the band. The band is imbued with a certain Tucson-ness, but it’s not provincial or a yearning to move to the costly coast. It’s a certain openness known by those who have lived there and dismissed by those who don’t know, don’t value or don’t care. There is indeed something undefinable in the desert air and its live and let live ethos that can spur creative pursuits. Reflecting the unpredictable atmosphere of Tucson itself, Travis writes lyrical assemblages with straightforward, skewed and serpentine perspectives all clashing, converging and co-existing within the hooks and harmonies. Overall, there is a magnetic pull that encourages further exploration and engagement way beyond the usual cycle of point, click, skip ad, and scroll on.

Moving Targets

As previously mentioned, there’s an even stronger slant into the Kinks as heard on side one’s “Sunny-Free” and “For the Taken.” Further, they offer their own distinctive and dramatic take by applying sardonic character sketches and studies to their own locale. While the geographical settings for the bands drastically differ, their milieus overlap as Freezing Hands trade out football (soccer) for baseball, pubs for strip mall dive bars and rolling bucolic greens for parking lots, foothills and flatlands sprawling with red tile roofs. Until a recent revisit of those post-Turtles Flo & Eddie records spurred by reading Mark Volman’s recent book Happy Forever, I had not previously perceived Flo & Eddie's significant influence on Freezing Hands. It all makes sense as Ray Davies produced Turtle Soup by the Turtles.

  TONIGHT

“Wax Cups” evokes both "Drivin' Around" by Raspberries and the magic feeling that can still be felt when one returns to the Pacific Coast and observes the breaking waves and feels the cool of those misty California nights. In addition, it’s also a celebration of the option to go out once again. Meanwhile, “High Diver!” expresses the anticipatory aspects of that power-pop belief in the literal and figurative TONIGHT with the appropriate levels of top-down buoyancy in the grand tradition of Raspberries and ‘70s Beach Boys with the keys adding a Cars-like gleam. The lyrics shift easily from the slapstick and satirical to the clever and contemplative before twisting back on themselves. 

Freezing Hands live at the Yucca in Tempe, AZ (March 2023)
L-R: Kevin Conklin (bass), Travis Spillers (guitar, lead vocals), Matt Rendon (drums, backing vocals) Scott Landrum (keys, backing vocals)

Inherent intuition Upon first hearing the song title announced by Travis when they played the Yucca Tap Room in Tempe last March, I thought that “I Was a Teenage Piece of Shit” was going to be an “ID Slips In” exploitative throwaway. It’s actually a reflective rumination on redeeming yourself in the universe for past harms done to others. It also actually flips the script on the usual narratives where oldsters gloat about how much they got away with in one’s youth. It concludes with the never ending quest “To Be a Much Better Human,” while musically it’s somewhat of a sweeping continuation of “Here with the Babies” from the preceding album. The song also displays their intuitive sense of combining “inside baseball” details with harmonies and relentless Stooges' “1969” inspired handclaps. Matt’s remakrable drumming in Freezing Hands recalls the great Clem Burke and the late Phil Seymour. (His propulsive, yet intricate style of beat-pop-jazz drumming has to be seen and heard live.) Overall, it’s a brave display of their growth and development and knowing when one has to take things head on or when one needs to consider approaching from other angles. 

Arrangements & Rearrangements

Concluding side one is the cheeky “Got Me a Friend” which could be a concert closer and/or slotted in the upcoming movie Peter Rabbit 3: Naughty by Nature during a festive montage. 

Most groups typically front load their albums with the uptempo numbers up on side one to make a grand entrance and grab attention.  Freezing Hands are not most groups as they work in reverse with the speediest and catchiest numbers on side two. 

Beat Boys in the Jet Age The album takes off on side two and goes from strength to strength, while prospecting similar power-pop territory as the Deathray Davies, Flop and the Lolas. “Destiny, Destiny” is total next phase new wave rock 'n' roll combining 20/20, the Taxi Boys, Greg Kihn Band with Look Sharp!-era Joe Jackson. The on-target lyrics delve into notions of changing fate in the face of the pre-ordained. “Disappearing Bug or Horse” returns them to the valley of the Dickies merging with TVT-period Guided by Voices. Besides the aforementioned American influences, there are also hints of UK mod revival sounds like the Look UK and the Lambrettas-especially when those bands incorporated Broadway showtunes influence like the Look UK covering “Tonight” from West Side Story.

 

Topsy-Turvy Self-referential songs are tricky as they can work or they can fall flat. Thankfully “My Guitar” is more Young Fresh Fellows than goofy Too Much Joy. “Taxiing” raises the question: “Is that a riveting AC/DC riff by way of Hoodoo Gurus?” "Friend-O" unfolds as a rollicking barroom morality play and has the galloping kick  of “Kodachrome” by Paul Simon.

The enthralling “Nothin’ in the Tank” is this album’s tour de force. The song is already incorporated in their live set and immediately stood out at their aforementioned rare live show at the Yucca in Tempe last March. The “canvas sneakers power-pop” of the Nerves and the Beat arrives on the forefront. It’s a mini-masterpiece with layers of whirling vocals and cascading melodies before finishing in a round.

Nothing in Reserve Under constantly changing circumstances, Freezing Hands have remained true to their ambitious and distinctive approach of spanning musical decades to advance their harmonic, melodic and enduring sound of their own making. All this is made possible by their resolute commitment to rehearsals, recordings and live shows on top of the push & pull of workaday life. In a way, their undeterred pursuit to create their own captivating sound and realize their visions in the face of everything else are also major characteristics of the Old Pueblo of Tucson itself.

Freezing Hands-photo by Ed Arnaud
L-R: Kevin Conklin (bass), Travis Spillers (guitar, lead vocals), Matt Rendon (drums, backing vocals) Scott Landrum (keys, backing vocals)

Best of 2022: Top 10 & Archival

1. The Pen Friend Club-S/T

2. Yea-Ming And The Rumours – So, Bird...

3.Freezing Hands – It Was A Good Run

4. April March-In Cinerama

5. Hazy Sour Cherry-Strange World

6. Various-If You Gotta Go-Go, Go-Go Now :
 A Tribute To The Go-Go's

8. The Volebeats-Lonesome Galaxy

8. Stephen McCarthy & Carla Olson
– Night Comes Falling

9. Uni Boys-Do It All Next Week

10. The Fuzziyama Surfers – Wild Echizen

Archival

1. Lou Reed – I'm So Free: The 1971 RCA Demos

2. Tom Dawes (of Cyrkle) –
  Elusive: The Tom Dawes Jingle Workshop

Freezing Hands-It Was A Good Run

Ever since their wonderfully ramshackle and seemingly off-the-cuff debut album, Coma Cave ‘13, appeared out of the Southwest blue in 2014 like a holy grail custom press pop album, Tucson’s Freezing Hands have been going against the prevailing forces, while paying little attention to fleeting trends and flash in the pan scenes. Who else offered a Zombies-ish cover of the Impressions’ “You Must Believe Me”?  Moreover, I consider 2016’s Freezing Hands II one of the 10 best albums released last decade. (It was hard to keep up during 2010-2019, as there were stacks of remarkable releases-especially in comparsion to this already disqualified decade.) With the departure of so many musicians this decade, I have embraced the concept of a workhorse-like clockwork band, releasing captivating records and hopefully stepping up to stages in the Southwest-if Covid conditions continue to thankfully improve. Additionally, their immediately catchy songs like “See’s Candy Girl” and “Born in July” are seemingly in such short supply and acts that once were influenced by the ‘60s and ‘70s power pop have moved on to ‘80s slickness (e.g., Mystic Braves) or even the ‘90s (Harsh Mistress) in the form of vaporwave.

Don’t take the album title as face value, as it's not a posthumous parting shot. This streadfast quartet, with decades of experience in a variety of Tucson bands, are now operating in perfect working order. The opener “Too Good for Too Long'' surges out of the speakers with a hammering stripped-down Stooges piano riff, Clem Burke-like drum fills and keyboards that evokes the Cuts when they customized the Cars and Matthew Smith took the wheel of production from Reigning Sound’s Greg Cartwright. The incendiary “Don’t Ask Me (as I’m Walking Out the Door)” lands somewhere in churn and burn territory that was once the domain of the Dickies and the margins of Marked Men with its beseeching vocals and cycloning guitars. Faster, fuller, larger and louder are the operative words to differentiate the start of this album from previous mid-fi efforts. Still, have no fear as Rendon is not going  Andy Wallace on us with his production.

Consistent Track Record

Along with arguably having the best singing voice in Tucson, Spillers could be considered the punk poet laureate of the old pueblo, whose lyrics could be read under a tent at Tucson’s Festival of Books. In addition, I’ve always detected a bit of Bob Mould and Mike Watt when it comes to the artistic intensity and econo ethos in Spillers. “Pallet Gun” seems guided by the magnetic poetry school of Robert Pollard and aligns near the head space of Frank Black. “Broken and Unspoken” serves up the razzle dazzle while examining the human psyche. In other words, it’s like the Young Fresh Fellows going “Space Truckin”’ with its coiling swells of organ and sing-along chorus bursting down the straightaways. 

There is also a definite glam slam element that connects both ends of the ‘70s spanning the theatrical rock of Alice Cooper, the Tubes, through Bowie’s “Suffragette City” (esp. “Mobius Strip”) to the Dawn of the Dickies and circularing back only to later reappear at the door to ring in the Knockout Pills. Underneath the glitz of the stomping “Here With The Babies,” is a rushing undercurrent of wry social commentary that evokes The Beanery, the 1965 walk-in art installation by Edward Kienholz or a recent weekend night of my own when I went back to the crush of humanity at a Deke Dickerson show at Tempe's Yucca, only to encounter many peripheral aspects involving live music that I hadn’t missed one iota. The space invading (beyond the venue's Electric Bat Arcade) and the weight being thrown around made one miss nominal notions of social distancing that was practiced by some for the last two years.

Date Shake

The record lifts off with the glorious “Lovers of Humanity.”  It’s simply the perfect pop song of the year in full out Beach Boys glory. The wrecking crew pop comes complete with Matt Rendon employing Hal Blaine's signature pattern “Bum-ba-bum-BOOM!” first laid down in “Be My Baby.” The record soars like the Dukes of the Stratosphere getting “Near Wild Heaven” with its radiant melodies and harmonies galore and restores my faith in Freezing Hands, music and humanity. These Tucson Toros fans are not afraid to be ambitious and hit it out of Tucson Electric Park and the hits keep coming!

“Too Many Keys” expresses something we can relate to when some of us are now carrying as many figurative or literal keys as a janitor for our jobs. The song combines verses remenicient of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists with a chorus blending seamlessly into a Fleetwood Mac Greatest Hit or should I mention 38 Special-hanging on loosely before the bright tones of a Wurlitzer Spinet piano played by Scott Landrum appears as the solo and fondly evokes Zumpano. In addition, card game references and a sideways glance to the Steve Miller Band coincide to reveal their ace-up-the-sleeve. 

Extending the Range

With its layered harmonies, masterclass arrangement and varied textures “Regurts” is a sonic declaration that Spillers has come a considerable distance from the hardcore of Los Federales (which has proven foundational in Spillers' musical development and continues to informs their sound). “Life All Your Own” features that faux fifties vocalizing inside an English music hall that stretches back to the long gone Tucson bands of 2004 yore like Galactic Federation of Love with both bands’ dedicated following of the Kinks. I’m somehow suspecting Spillers might be the biggest Kinks fan this side of Lance Loud. “Timing Belt” and “Eric Hubbard’s Long Game” are rambling, yet snappy as pearl buttons numbers that take the scenic route and could be a loose salute to the recently departed Mike Nesmith.

The striking lyrics contained within offer another dimension as they straddle the line between the straightforward and the oblique. Not only does Spillers demonstrate the keen power of observation, but he is able to transform the raw security footage of life into magnetic melodies and appealing songs in lighting rod fashion. The quotidian concerns and competing priorities of the work week enter in and provide the songs a work/life presence and immediacy. You might find yourself singing the aforementioned “Too Many Keys...” around the house while looking for your keys or a door badge as 8 am rapidly approaches and time seemingly skips forward.

Matt Rendon (drums) & Travis Spillers (guitar)

The Dynamic Duo

In similar fashion to his musical counterpart and fellow Freezing Hand Matt Rendon, who I once described as "The bard of barbed précis on the pitfalls on the scene," Spillers also dispenses veiled references on Tucson’s lively music scene by catching and releasing slice of life vignettes which intelligently lambast over and under the abundant hooks. Still, Spillers is never sanctimonious as he employs a self-effacing sense of humor along with realizing a pointed finger means there are three fingers pointing back. Furthermore, satire is just one of their many tricks as few can currently match their knack for fastening hooks and melodies, musical knowledge and overall range of songwriting approaches to express their musical visions.

Peak Performance

The unsung quartet has always seemingly and smartly been off to the side and wary of putting their time and efforts into any singular musical movement because they have been around long enough to know scenes fizzle out and eventually fade away or implode overnight. Fittingly, their straight-ahead, yet slanted sound does not coalesce into any ready-made categories or time periods. Overall, these pop prospectors are one of the leading bands currently turning out a distinctive and enduring sound and making their own way in the Intermountain West. Out in the haze the desert mirage is real, the purple mountain laurel is blooming and Freezing Hands have struck their tone and reached another sonic peak. 

The Resonars-No Exit

Things keep coming and going, but the Resonars remain a constant pop force within Tucson's somewhat submerged and unvarnished music scene. The last five years have seen some of my favorite bands (Freezing Hands, Sea Wren, Harsh Mistress) of this decade emerge from Midtown Island with the Resonars at the epicenter and Matt Rendon as the prime mover.  While these bands have overlapping members, they are not side projects, joke bands or offshoots, but full-fledged groups that all share a love of the melodic guitar-driven pop of the '60s and select moments of the '70s & '80s (that mostly reflect the '60s).  However they don't stop there, as they push forward their original sounds while further differentiating it by using the mid-fi recording equipment and production techniques inspired by the '60s masters (e.g., Martin, Wilson (both Brian & Tom), Talmy, Hassinger, Usher). When I first encountered the mundane front cover standing in stark contrast to the color explosions of the previous albums, I entered No Exit with some trepidation that this might be a wrong turn towards dispiriting dishwater indie-rock. My preconceptions were instantly replaced with the instant reaction that the album hits all expected markers and much more.  In other words, the front cover is not truly indicative of the catchy and vibrant sounds found within its doors affixed with red lettering that might also be a reference to the Grass Roots' overlooked song of the same name.  In any case, the enthralling "Gone is the Road" scampers along paths first cut in those Nerves demos (namely "Too/Many Roads to Follow") that were later fully resurrected on some of the more recent Paul Collins solo albums.



While it might be hard to fathom, "Who's Going Believe You Now" successfully nicks the guitar riff off Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold." The rustic "Days Fade Away" manages to reflect the mutual admiration society of the Beatles' "I've Just Seen a Face and "Have You Seen Her Face" by the Byrds for a true baroque hoedown. "Before You're Gone" closes out side A and evinces a strong affinity for '70s power pop stalwarts (Flamin' Groovies, the Poppees, the Rubinoos and the Raspberries) with the sweet harmonies and guitars sharpened to the peak of perfection.  This solid pop is made possible by a well-honed sense of songcraft modeled on and inspired by the brilliance of the mid-sixties (when commercial success briefly coincided with artistic aspirations). This also serves as an example how the sounds of the Resonars have withstood the test of time by not being made in a pure pop snapcase, but created amidst the competing priorities, entanglements and the friction of workaday life.

Side B takes off like a rip-cord funny car with "Tucson Drag/All These Hats." This doubleheader features a Turtles-like "Buzzsaw" slicing through it before barreling down Speedway in search of an elusive Frozen Sun 45 or a stockpile of Midnight Cowboy soundtracks. The album goes from strength to strength with "Dull Today" and "Fell Into a World" as they are both finely crafted and flawlessly executed in classic Resonars mode. There is a subtle, but effective ringing buzz underlying "Dull Today," that provides welcomed contrast in the signal to noise ratio, while one almost expects to hear Peter Noone's bouncy vocals to appear after the guitar intro of "Fell Into a World." For a challenge, try discerning the source material for the pre-chorus of "Gotta Get Out" amidst the obvious nods to Big Star and the climbing and crescendoing Beach Boys vocal harmonies. This elusive pre-chorus seems to be an intriguing graft of the Clash's "Train in Vain" and "Cruel to Be Kind" by Nick Lowe, but still avoids being traced down. At the end of the day, it casts a radiant glow with its sundown harmonies.  If "Gotta Get Out" has a little different feel beyond the atypical arrangement, there is an additional reason as the lead vocals are handled here by Travis Spillers of the aforementioned Freezing Hands.



"Attention Here" skips along to deliver a barbed précis on the pitfalls of the more temporal trends in both the underground and mainstream of the last three decades, while also serving as an allegory to life itself.  No Exit not only contains their expected elevating harmonies and uncanny hooks, but also present the group at their most melodic, proficient and varied. Moreover, the compelling album captures the Resonars at a musical summit, reached by tapping into an extra sense of urgency and placing excitement into the Arizona air.