Imagine if I had predicted 45 years ago that 20/20 and The Vapors would both release excellent albums in the first two months of 2025. Would anyone have believed me (especially considering I was only nine years old)? What a wonderful thing music is! Back To California (out on SPYDERPOP and Big Stir Records) is 20/20's first new album since 1998. And without trying too hard to be "vintage" 20/20, it proves to be an accomplished and truly inspired showing from legendary songwriters Ron Flynt and Steve Allen (joined by Flynt's son Ray).
Rather than attempting some kind of deliberate "return to form," Flynt and Allen have built on their entire body of work and put their virtuoso songwriting skills on display. Back To California is a splendid guitar pop record that doesn't cling to any genre in particular. Its hooks and melodies are undeniable, but it's not looking to turn back the clock to 1979. Far from a copy of 20/20's classic debut album, this is precisely the album you would hoped the band would have given us decades later. It's a little mellower and more sophisticated — more timeless American pop-rock than power pop per se. It's the work of a couple of esteemed & seasoned artists whose songwriting has matured and evolved over time while still emphasizing timeless melodies and indelible hooks.
The curse of authoring the greatest power pop ever made is that every subsequent record you release will be compared to it. But 20/20 has never looked back, and has just gone about the business of crafting first-rate pop music. Back To California is arguably their finest and most consistently strong release since that first album. Absolutely one gets the sense 20/20 has come full circle — revisiting its old stomping grounds with a perspective that can only come from living life and growing wiser. Of course the album has moments where you'll hear flickers of the 20/20 of yore, but the 20/20 of today is a joy to behold entirely in its own right. Back To California puts on a master class in guitar-forward, melody-driven pop. To paraphrase Mike Patton, what did we do to deserve this record?
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