Make Something Happen! Is the latest in Big Stir Records series of multi artist tribute albums to Power Pop bands the label loves. The Compilation was produced and curated by Carl Caferelli and features many bands from the Big Stir Records roster and a few special guests and he even convinced The Flashcubes themselves to sing three new songs, keeping Syracuse power-pop alive since 1977 this compilation covers songs from every era of the Flashcubes career.
The album opens with Reminisce With You and who better to do that with, but The Flashcubes themselves, with some delightful guitar they take us back to the good old days, when they were a cool touring band that everyone loved, they just want to sit down and sing some well-produced power pop nuggets and chat with you, go on let them you won't regret it.
Sparkle* Jet's U.K. want to Make Something Happen in a cool college rock power pop way, they urge you to not give in to your loneliness, you really can go out and make new friends and get the love you crave.
Like they usually do Librarians With Hickeys have Gone Too Far in the bands undying love for the Byrds, this time they have cool angelic vocal parts and soaring guitar solo. Chris Von Sneidern makes clear that he gives you No Promise or guarantee of loving you for longer than this night he holds you in his arms, what he will however promise, is to play his guitars like he wants to be in Big Star.
Graham Parker and Mike Gent take on someone who is Pathetic giving them a good dressing down for being a total tool and other crimes against good behaviour, the guitar that goes a bit Crazy Horse makes this song stand out. Joe Giddings tells us You're Not Grounded now is it a message to a misbehaving kid or to someone whose head is way too high in the clouds, stuck fixating on the snares going wild in the left speaker.
Ballzy Tomorrow are deeply in love with the girl with Five Personalities, well they are in love with three of the five, many of us can sympathize having met men and women who could easily have 5 or more personalities, dependant on mood or chemical enhancements, the jangly intense guitar solo loving one, the harmony vocal lover, chugging singalong powerpop lover etc etc.
The Flashcubes then pay tribute to The Flashcubes by taking us to their Sweet Spot, this doesn't contain sage advice for finding the best place to stand in music venues, but they are looking for that musical Sweet Spot. I can help you on that front in most of London's music venues of the last 40 years, I mastered in the art while recording bootlegs back in the day, this song gives me cool Flashbacks, picking which amp to be in front of for the coolest guitar freakouts etc. Learning that in front of the singer's monitor might mean you can't hear any vocals, could that be the sweet spot.
The Kennedy's sing the song that comes on after Sitting In The Park has set everything up, they go Walking In The Park feeling wistful, while a Two Nice Girls going bad vibe comes through, they feel all alone, sad regrets that love didn't last forever.
Then The Verbs take us back to the late 70's and early 80's yoof trends for I Need Glue, oh yeah they need that Evo-Stick more than they need you, this has hot garage rock guitars and riffs in a Pandoras on UHU vibes. The new wave of new wave sounds of Dolph Chaney are chasing the Girl From Germany who has him in her grips, totally enamoured he will do anything she wants, he doesn't want her language exchange year abroad to end.
The Pop Co-Op are urging us to Wait Till next week when really, they want to call you thirty times in 5 hours like the lovesick puppies they are, she just keeps telling them to Wait Till Next week before calling back, the devastation to the fragile egos explode through the twin guitars moving across the speakers. The Peppermint Kicks however are ready to hang out on Muscle beach flexing and stretching, preening and prowling, hoping to get all the easy action they can, while having a chugging Dictators meets The Beach Boys infused beat hoping to stop the fighting so the loving can carry on.
They love Muscles so much they could be cruising for even more muscular guys than gals.
Tom Kenny & The Hi Seas play a super speedy hook laden romp through Welcome To The Working Class that has a Johnny B Goode vibe for a tune that should be after George Thorogoods Get A Haircut, while The Choosers have gone all sappy and lovesick on Christi Girl, will she ever be theirs or will she continue to be enraptured by Alan Vega, no matter how you make them, she will always spurn your advances.
Wow they have found Hammell On Trial and got him to sing Got No Mind over an urgent deep acoustic guitar, he's in fine form and so great to hear some new music from him, seeing his name on the cover would probably persuade me to buy this album, yeah He's Got No Mind and I want to hit repeat repeatedly.
The Armoires send out a clear message You're Not The Police this song not only works for its coercive controlling boy or girl friend, but also for many people in alleged power today, so check your instincts you don't own them, and you're not going to run our lives, lush harmonies to tell you to leave them alone.
The Flashcubes come back again for If These Hands could ever let go of the dreams of being in a huge band, still obsessed with the Beach Boys they will get on there knees and beg you to let them be with you again, go on give them just one more chance.
Robb Moss & The Skin-Tight Skin are having a Bad Dream that they are still in about 1985 or 6 and want to sound like Lou Miami and doing all sorts of weird things, like sort of having vocal effects similar to Armand Schaubroeck, this sounds like a Trouser Press classic. You have to pity The Mayflowers as they are Born To Cry always being dumped and left alone again.
Super 8 Featuring Lisa Mychols sound sad and heartbroken When We Close Our Eyes thinking back to how things used to be, how did we get to where we are now, cuddle up with an old friend to this rathe autumnal sounding song.
Callan Foster gets rather wistful and jangly hoping It's You Tonight, he'll find every way he can to beg you to come on over and make his night, he wants you and only you, will you give in or just laugh at his endless begging. Sorrows are sending out signals that this will sound brilliant on your Radio to hear just what they do with those guitars, chugging away like authentic college rock gods, back in the day when your station only reached as far as it's Antenna's reach, unlike today when being someone's own personal radio station is more or less possible.
The Spongetones wrap things up with Nothing Really Matters When Your Young that really has different meanings when sung by a band over the age of 50, this is a look back to how things were back in the day, a cool reminiscence of younger more carefree days, before responsibility and maturity spoiled things.
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