You know I'm always pumped for new music from Friends of Cesar Romero. J. Waylon is one of the finest songwriters in the present-day garage/pop/rock 'n' roll universe, and the way he manages to be a prolific artist yet never turn out a sub-par release is beyond impressive. FoCR's new EP Last Summer A Year From Now (How's that for an amazing title?) is installment number 42 in the Doomed Babe Series. And yet as deep as we are into this series, none of these installments have felt unnecessary or redundant. Any time I hear the latest installment, I'm already looking forward to the next one. Part of that is the timelessness of the subject matter. Who can't relate to themes of heartbreak and obsession and doomed romance? Another part of it is how well J. Waylon writes about this sort of stuff. He has lived these songs, and he's gifted at putting all that doom into eloquent words. This new EP finds him mixing up musical styles in a most satisfying way. "Kinetic Threat" is a crackling opener that brings to mind the early 2000s heyday of modern garage rock. "Purple Hearts Hardly Bruise" is ultra-energetic poppy punk and quite the toe-tapper. The title track is scruffy power pop par excellence. "The Long Drive To You" takes it back to the garage vein and begs to be blasted loudly. Closing it out, "Simple Little Love Song" is textbook power pop. There's something on this EP for everyone, and there's nothing on this EP that will disappoint longtime fans. And if you're not a longtime fan, this would be a perfectly good entry place into Friends of Cesar Romero fandom. Grab a free download while you can, and be sure to dig into that treasure trove of a back catalog if you like what you hear!
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