The dB's: Like This

The dB's: Like This

1984

Bearsville Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Love Is for Lovers  2. She Got Soul  3. Spitting in the Wind  4. Lonely Is (As Lonely Does)  5. Not Cool  6. Amplifier  7. A Spy in the House of Love  8. Rendezvous  9. New Gun in Town  10. On the Battlefront  11. White Train




Happy 4th of July (the American Cinco de Mayo) weekend!!!

Hope none of you lose any fingers to those fireworks you bought in Ohio! And if you do lose fingers, make sure they're not any of the important ones (I don't know what my pinky is for). Oh, yea...Sorry I barely posted any new blogs last month. I'll make it up to you this month though...It's my goal to write no less than 10 posts in July. That's my 4th of July resolution...

 Oh, man...I love the dB's  debut "Stands for Decibels." Particularly the sweet, sweet pop compositions of Peter Holsapple, so I was happy to track down a copy of The dB's third album which is their first release without Chris Stamey who was responsible for a lot of the quirkier, more experimental stuff on their earlier albums...This may be a drawback for folks who are drawn to the artier side of the band, but for a jangle-pop loving fool like me, this is all gravy...

I don't know if there's anything on here that's on the life-changing level of 'Black and White" or "Big Brown Eyes" but this record is consistent as fuck...Kicking off with the shimmering pop of "Love is for Lovers" every single track is pure power-pop heaven...Song after song utilizes the same glorious formula: Chiming Byrds-ian guitars, with wiry new wave energy and beautiful harmonies...And for something so catchy,  it's awfully subtle. Which means you have an album that sort of pleasantly floats by on the first few listens until suddenly one day "Spitting in the Wind" is hopelessly caught in your head with no way to get it out...

The band deviates from the formula on only a handful of tracks...For example,  "A Spy in the House of Love," finds the band falling into a funky dance groove that's sure to liven up alternative dance night.  The knockout "On the Battlefront" slows things down and adds some emotional intensity (oh, yea...I should mention there's an undeniable early R.E.M-ness about this band, and especially so on this track). Oddly enough, another diversion was their big hit..

 "Amplifier" sounds to me like Holsapple approximating Stamey's oddball approach and against all odds making it their breakthrough. It's like an askew version of rockabilly or Bo Diddley with a melody that unexpectedly has a way of worming its way into your brain. On an album so abundant with finely-crafted pop, this gangly indie rocker somehow manages to become the record's most memorable moment. Smart, funny, catchy stuff...So good it appeared on two albums in a row...Shouldn't I be condemning this crass money grab? No, cos I wouldn't have a copy of the song otherwise...

 These dB's albums can be hard to track down...Somebody really needs to reissue these things...A huge shame such a wonderful band, who put out a pile of wonderfully poppy albums, are so obscure...In a world where "pop" means auto tune and repetitive robotic chants calculated to instantly irritate the shit out of you, the dB's are an oasis...A place you can go to hear well-written, subtle hooks that bury deep on repeated listens. I actually prefer "Like This" to the acknowledged classic "Stands for Decibels" simply because I value intelligently-written pop. To be honest, whenever I reach for "Stands for Decibels," it was to hear the Holsapple stuff. And "Like This" is nothing but Holsapple...So I'm happy...

Let's listen to some dB's...Here's "Love is For Lovers." Enjoy...