Favorites of 2024

1. Tetsuko-Curl

2. Yea-Ming & the Rumours-I Can't Have It All

3.The Resonars-Electricity Plus

4. Fastbacks-for What reason!

5.  Alvilda-C'est D​é​jà L'heure

6. Program-It's A Sign

7. Falling Sugar-S/T

8. Beachwood Sparks-Across The River Of Stars

9. The Tyde-5

10. Redd Kross-S/T

Best "All Covers" Album 
                            

The Pen Friend Club-Back In The Pen Friend Club

Best Re-Release (& Re-Recording)

Sachiko Kanenobu – Fork In The Road 

Best Various/Collections

1. Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964 -1965

2. Demoler! Demoler! Demoler! The Story of Rebeca Llave and Disperú

3. Eurotwang! - 34 Twangy Guitar Instro's, Exhumed From Europe's Deepest Vaults

4. Steve Jordan and The Jordan Brothers: It Ain't No Big Thing

5. Cumbias Chichadelicas 2: + Peruvian Psychedelic Chicha

                                                                      

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

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.