Uni Boys-S/T

The third album is the charm for the Los Angeles band originally from Aliso Viejo. Whether you call this power pop, new wave like Tempe, Arizona artist Oliverio Balcells or just rock ‘n’ roll, they check all the boxes with their latest. Their guitars gleam and their vocals soar on their self-titled album with melody at the forefront, hooks galore and overlapping Pacific Coast harmonies.

Valley Bar in Phoenix, AZ-April 20, 2026
L to R: Reza, Noah, Michael

Noah and Reza trade off lead vocal duties and both are apt at writing infectious upbeat numbers and tales of romantic heartbreak. Additional magic happens when the duo blend their highly complementary voices in harmony.  The rhythm section provides the strong foundation as well as shifting the tempos. Artie’s drumming is the band’s not-so-secret weapon. Overall his style is reminiscent of the late Jack Reynolds of the Last and Scott Miller of Agent Orange as his surf-beat playing serves the songs. Equally important, he carries and advances their sound to propel the songs forward as well as offering some remarkable flashes. On bass, Michael strikes the balance between dependability and dashing with his versatility, while also adding some wonderful harmony vocals. Michael is also a songwriter & guitar player where timeless influences (doo wop, Beach Boys, Lou Reed) shine through his sounds.   

The record gets off to a speedy start with “Victim Of Myself,” Reza’s composition of getting out of one’s own way.  They find the sweet spot between power pop and pop punk along lines of the Shame Idols, the Hum Hums, and the Parasites. With its catchy title-chorus “I Don't Wanna Dream Anymore,” Noah’s dashing declartion could be the album’s strongest candidate for sync licensing. It’s like a reflection of the Taxi Boys in 20/20’s mirrored sunglasses. "You'll Curse His Name Again” is the album’s most unabashed Beatles-esque tune not far stylistically removed from the Poppees. Next, Reza’s atmospheric ballad, "Abra," has a majestical Chris Bell quality that melts into some Beach Boys harmonies. This paean is for the romantically inclined, the lovers, the dreamers… A chiming organ adorns “Maybe I'm Wrong” and leads Noah’s skip-along into the paisley lands of the Three O’ Clock suspended under a twilight canopy and billowy harmonies furnished by the Lemon Twigs brothers. This ebullient Bruce & Terry-tinged pop number flows into Reza’s “Want You Back.” Be sure to catch the outro that plays homage to the single version of the Last’s “She Don’t Know Why I’m Here.”  

During their live show, I noticed that Noah’s voice sometimes evokes the quivery style of Chris Stamey and it comes to the forefront on the dB’s-ish “You're So (Phisticated).” Reza’s gliding vocals and the Flamin’ Groovies-ish intro and outro makes his composition “Look On The Bright Side” both a live and recorded standout. My jaw dropped when I heard “Genevieve” as I wondered, is that a quote of “Silhouettes” by Herman's Hermits by way of the Rays?!? Noah’s vocals take on a real Joe King quality when the Queers ride the bubblegum surf waves. “Sin Your Life Away” unfolds with Reza's impressive arrangement burnished by those bittersweet Big Star filigrees. With the dramatics of the Raspberries and the straight-ahead clarity of the BMX Bandits and Honeyrider, Noah's “Without A Broken Heart.” lands the proper album on a pop-tastic strong note. Be sure to hear the two bonus tracks that were recorded in Billy Tibbals’ garage. “Can’t Do It” contains an ultra-catchy refrain that will sneak up to you when you are going about your day, while “Our Last Kiss” follows in the baroque pop tradition of Emitt Rhodes and the Left Banke with its ornate instrumentation and string section.   

Songs made to endure
While continuing to adhere to the power pop aesthetic, Uni Boys proceed further into Century 21 as they have refined and expanded their melodic sound to reach an even wider audience. They have already received the Billie Joe Armstrong stamp of approval and caught the attention of those who came of musical age circa ‘79/’80. The band with the infectious hooks and the striking Southern Californian looks have fully realized the sound that many listeners were wishing for and achieved the rare feat where every song could be released as a single. This is currently the top album I have heard in this very competitive year and also consider it among the best power pop albums since 1979.  

Valley Bar in Phoenix, AZ, April 20, 2026
L to R: Reza, Noah, Michael

Tempe, AZ Nov. 2023

Tempe, AZ Nov. 2023

Reza scoring a Yellow Balloon single
at the Dana Point Record Show
Photo by Chris Owen (MUSK, Killer's Kiss)

Michael checking up on "Lies" by the Knickerbockers
at the Dana Point Record Show
Photo by Chris Owen (MUSK, Killer's Kiss)

 

Valley Bar-Phoenix, AZ-April 20, 2026
L to R: Rez, Noah, Artie

Freezing Hands-Ghouls of 22nd Street

 

As soon as the sound of the cascading drums comes crashing down on the opening number “The Log Book,” their 5th album veers off into a multitude of unexpected directions. While it was somewhat common for the '60s bands to put their exploratory song suites, jams or long number on side two (like “Revelation” by Love on their Da Capo album or the Who’s "A Quick One, While He's Away" to conclude A Quick One), Freezing Hands flip the convention and start strange right from the start on Side A-Wax.

Upon initial listens, Side A-Wax does not start as immediate as its four predecessors, but reveals its depth and breadth-in its own time. They open the doors to their own Butterscotch Cathedral as there seems to be a sense of beatific religious imagery and philosophical notions coursing through these songs which chase shadows of belief and disbelief.  Both the literary (inspired by Joyce? Vonnegut?) and the quotidian clash and converge within the lyrics to act as an invocation to ask further questions without scripted answers. Spillers’ somewhat cryptic language expresses and reflects lived experience from rakish rooms filled with the shards of shattered records and bad canned goods to those as an everyday educator attuned to the plight of the slighted and marginalized.

All paths lead to the title track where years of listening to Johnny Mathis, Sergio Mendes, Scott Walker, Bacharach, Love and the Zombies culminates in this free flowing bossa-infused number which is one of the best and most brilliant songs in their entire catalog.  Here, they turn the necessary corner from where things don’t make sense, to where they do. The sound of the words work in unison with the music and provide the poetry-in-motion permeating the album. “The Meek and the Mild” immediately brings to mind Minus 5 meets early ‘70s solo Paul Simon. Spiraling Dylan-esque lyrics wind like the roads up Tucson’s Mt. Lemmon to reach the truism of “One things for sure - nothing’s for sure” buttressed by assuring and soaring sundown harmonies.

Side B-Wane brings the Bowie beat to Rodney's English disco with Fowley lurking in the shadows on the stomping “Steppin’ to Holy Cow.” Its glittering melody was running through my head when I woke up the other night, which is not a bad thing at all. This glam slam could also have a strong appeal to listeners of the Lemon Twigs, Tchotchke, Uni Boys and Billy Tibbals. The skewering “Shooting from the Hip” is the album’s most jagged and riveting number and evokes Scared of Chaka when they were on Sub City. Hardly any traces of punk remain in the Hands' sound on this release, but they are still totally punk in spirit. Be sure to catch Kim Shattuck-ish yowl growl and Kevin Conklin’s menacing bass sound scraped off the cinderblock walls of Midtown Island Studio and layered thick upon the tape. 

“Fading Balloons” could have been the flip-side to “Nuthin’ in the Tank” from their preceding album with melodies and harmonies that recall Lost Balloons and Harsh Mistress. Scott Landrum provides some of the most delightful and apt keyboard playing since heard on those two Zumpano albums from 30 years ago. Presenting a view from above, “I’m on a 10,” shares sentiments with the Sesame Street (Ernie!) song “I Don’t Want to Go to the Moon.”  Meanwhile, the music recalls Badfinger with its guitar riff nick of “No Matter What” in particular. With its Sha Na Na/Bowser-ish utterance of  “Yeaah,” “Long in the Lung” reminds me of the 2010’s, when many bands were unabashed about unleashing their ‘50s rock & roll influences. Here, they throw their words and music into their own Freezing Hands blender to whip up quite a concoction to the beat of Matt Rendon's propulsive drumming. The album ends on the edges of classic rock with a sense of acute strangeness that permeates the first Alice Cooper album (Pretties for You) along the forward push of “Vehicle” by Ides of March.

Despite All the Complications These lyrics are delivered with considerable finesse and make this sort of a singer-songwriter album in the best sense like One Year by Colin Blunstone or those Scott Walker albums, but without the lavish orchestration. Spillers taps into his vast reservoir of words and images and offers character studies, detached observations and coded socio-political commentary along with his ever-present large sense of the absurd offset by appreciation of good things for what they are like donuts, baseball and libraries. Overall, it’s their most stylistically diverse album of all, while all the while maintaining their characteristic catchiness. They have additionally achieved a sense of continuity and momentum that comes with consistent practice and commitment. No matter how oppositional forces continue to conspire and distractions mount, they still believe, know and express that music & art does make a resounding difference.