Well, this was quite the nice surprise! We've got brand-new music from the mighty Lemon Drop Gang? Holy crap! Even with a little advance notice, I didn't manage to have a new single from one of my favorite bands reviewed in time for release day. So here I am a day late and hopefully less than a dollar short. I've hinted/implied/suggested that The Lemon Drop Gang might be my favorite band on the entire Rum Bar Records roster. That's some big talk, but this band is more than worthy of that level of adulation.
Somethin' is the fourth in a series of five singles from The Lemon Drop Gang. And in the case of this band, a "single" means what it's supposed to mean: two songs! The plan is to eventually compile all of these singles into an album that can rightfully be declared filler-free. So now lets' get into Somethin'. The two tracks are "Something Brings Me Down" and "Something Real." And they're exactly what you'd expect from The Lemon Drop Gang: sublimely crafted garage pop songs which meld unabashedly dark vibes with intoxicating melodies. On the virtual A-side, "Something Brings Me Down" is a slinking shot of psychedelic desert pop that really plays to the band's strengths: Steph O'Halloran's one-of-a-kind vocal presence and lyrical ingenuity, Johnny O'Halloran's mesmerizing lead guitar, and the unheralded brilliance of rhythm players D. Walker and Matt Rendon. This song highlights the band's ability to draw from timeless '60s pop music in a way that's highly inventive and completely unique in the contemporary garage rock scene. Steph O'Halloran's vocal on this track just about gives me chills. Few singers have the stuff to lure you in like this and then walk you to the brink of madness. "Something Real" picks up the pace a little and is more of a straight-forward guitar pop song. But again, there's something slightly sinister and a little disconcerting lurking beneath all that poppy goodness. It's like swallowing a sweet candy that becomes way more delicious when you notice the splendidly sour aftertaste. This is what happens when you have a great singer working in perfect harmony with a dynamite band. As a creative team, the O'Hallorans are something special. And the band's rhythm section really stands out here just by not trying to stand out. The Lemon Drop Gang is a band firing on all cylinders, and I'll enthusiastically double down on everything I've been saying about this Arizona foursome. This is the best band on Rum Bar Records. I can hardly wait for the next single!
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