My first reaction to Rochester, New York's False Positives was that they've got a "Boston" sort of sound. That actually makes sense given that songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Dave Harrison was a founding member of late '80s/early '90s garage rockers The Voodoo Dolls (a band that also featured Evan Shore, later of Muck and the Mires). With The False Positives, Harrison digs into his garage rock roots but also adds elements of power pop and straight-forward rock and roll. He's been releasing digital singles on Bandcamp since December of 2018. And since early last year, he's been working with a full band consisting of Paco Vives on drums, Brian Murray on bass, and Don Blair on keyboards. The latest single, "Closed-Circuit TV Romance", is a humorous yet quite poignant tale of two individuals trying to sustain a relationship via remote technology. While it's easy to take a cynical view of people making romantic connections long distance, there's a hopeful sentiment to this song that I find very sweet and reassuring. Given the events of the last ten months, there have to be a lot of people who will relate to this song. Harrison specifically cites The Kinks, Velvet Underground, the MC5, Randy Newman, and the Flamin’ Groovies as influences. On this track, I'm hearing a little Jonathan Richman/Modern Lovers influence. I'd definitely recommend this tune if your tastes gravitate toward the garage/DIY end of the power pop spectrum. The False Positives now have seven singles available via Bandcamp, and they're all name-your-price downloads. Check 'em out!
Thank you for the kind words!
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