Seasonal affective disorder kicking in with the onset of Autumn, the icy tendrils of Winter seemingly just another dark cloud away? Scorch those bad weather blues away with a ten-track sunburst in audio form that goes by the title, ‘Dose’.

 

Yes, ‘Dose’, the second album from The Brothers Steve, follows the L.A. band’s well-received 2019 debut and is guaranteed to put a smile on even the gloomiest of faces; you’ll feel like you’re in the audience for a taping of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In given the day-glo, power pop Summer love-in that pours out of this sugarbomb of a sophomore release.

 

That ‘Dose’ (available on CD and digital platforms this month) is such a great album should come as no surprise if you know anything about the band’s members and power punk pop pedigree. Singer/guitarist Jeff Whalen, drummer Steve Coulter, and bassist Jeff Solomon were members of Tsar, the glorious Los Angeles glam power pop crew who released two fabulous Noughties albums; the essential 2000 debut, ‘Calling All Destroyers’, hook-laden manna from harmony heaven that kept those of us allergic to Cookie Monster vocals and tracksuits-as-stagewear afloat as the new century dawned and threatened to musically yawn. Alongside singer/guitarist OS Tyler and guitarist Dylan Champion (Shapes Of Race Cars), this trio has fashioned a laidback, lo-fi winner of an album that will, for a short time at least, make everything seem alright.

 

If you love songs that sound like either the title- or closing-credits-song from a five-decade-old cult television show, then ‘Dose’ is the album for you. This is Summertime power pop floating on a psychedelic breeze; an exercise in retro righteousness that has a Chelsea boot in the Sixties, a platform heel in the Seventies, and is both British Invasion- and American garage rock-influenced: the album a true audio thrift store.

 

Opener ‘Get On Up’ is the alterno-reality theme tune to your favourite Seventies kids’ television show, second track, ‘Next Aquarius’, a dreamy, effortless tune that makes you realise that all bands could sound this fantastic if only the cool kids were allowed to make records. And that’s how ‘Dose’ plays out: lilting and ageless power pop that’ll make you want to dig out your Banana Splits shirt and Seventies seven-inch collection fused to late Sixties psychedelic pop that’ll make you want that childhood bowl haircut back.

 

‘Wizard Of Love’ and ‘Better Get Ready’ sound like they should have a vintage Top Of The Pops clips (drummer at the front, roadies doing synchronised dance moves) accompanying them, while gorgeous tunes like ‘Mrs. Rosenbaum’, ‘Love Of Kings’, and ‘She Will Wait’ will take you back a decade further with some aplomb. There are still hooks aplenty – the superb ‘Sugarfoot’ for example – and those wanting a touch of that Tsar magic will have to look no further than the most excellent ‘Electro-Love’.

 

That old Catholic guilt may come into play when you realise that, as people die all around us at the start of this new decade, our auditory canals have been gifted bands like The Brothers Steve and The Lickerish Quartet but, c’mon, we all know that life has teeth so surely it’s better to bare those gnashers in a shit-eating music-induced grin than in anger? A (wait for it) ‘Dose’ of this musical medicine will make everything taste sweeter, guaranteed. Highly recommended.

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Author: Gaz Tidey

Jangly pop darlings from as far North of England as you can get before you enter Scotland this Cumbrian indie power-pop tarts display enough melody for a truckload of Teenage Fanclub records and obviously have an ear for some Americana. The opener’ Play Hard’ builds nicely over layers of vocal harmonies and a decent building whisper to a scream sound as you can get.

It’s been six years since the bands previous long-player and songwriter  Will Harris says the album was recorded through a particularly tough time “hope, joy, anger, fear, loss and, ultimately, back to hope again, but all with catchy tunes!” is how he described ‘Howl’ and right from the opener you can’t disagree with him. As the song builds on those Beach Boys melodies to something rougher and more bruised before coming to an end.

There’s a panoramic feel to ‘Janey’ its got some of that country-rock vibe to it not a million miles from Gram Parsons and a great wide dessert feel to it. Are they sure these guys are from Cumbria and not southern California?

It’s funny how the same week I get this to review I’m also confronted by The Lemonheads 30th anniversary ‘Lovey’ and Drive-By Truckers also release a new record all very different but all linked with a fine pop sensibility in the melodies and some of the arrangments and you can throw the new Eels album into the mix as well.

I don’t like everything on offer here. the melody on ‘Goldmine’ isn’t quite to my taste but ‘Chicago’ is back on track. ‘The Start’ is more a lovely ballad with just a sparse piano and some Crosby, Stills, and Nash harmonies going on before building.

To be honest, in a time when everything seems to be gloomy it’s quite refreshing to have something a little dreamy and warm and Mylittlebrother is providing just that light relief at this moment.

Sure there are moments comparable to the likes of Dennis Wilson, Big Star, Wilco, Teenage Fanclub, Julian Cope, and Grandaddy and Pavement all locked in the DNA of Mylittlebrother. Which is no bad thing that’s for sure. From Cumbria to California we all need to smile and records like ‘Howl’ might just be able to provide the soundtrack for that.

 

Buy ‘Howl’ Here

Author: Dom Daley