Album Reviews
Philadelphia’s Perry Shall may look like a long lost Ramone on the album cover, but he actually likes to wear a lot of different hats. And vintage shirts. Apparently he is an avid collector. Next to being the in-house designer for Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound records, Shall has played in the surfy Dry Feet and spent time in the more thrashy affair that is HOUND. And for Wild Flowers of America, he decided to explore his love of 70’s and 80’s pub rock and power pop. He isn't going at it alone though, but can rely on the help of his label’s studio group consisting of Tenement’s Amos Pitsch (bass guitar, drums, rhythm & lead guitar, percussion, and backing vocals), Julia Blair (Farfisa compact organ, Hammond M3, and backing vocals) and Colin Wilde on drums on a couple of songs.
‘Lost in the Salvation Army’ comes with ten gems that sound instantly familiar while still offering a fresh twist. Cuts like opener ‘Unkind’, the title track, ‘Dwell On It’ and ‘Freak on the Street’ will make you think of everyone from Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe to The Who and Danko Jones. Organ-enhanced rock ‘n roll with plenty of soul, a garage-y feel and occasional surfy riffs sound good? Well, there’s plenty of that to go round on ‘Lost in the Salvation Army’.
Track listing:
- Unkind
- (I Wanna) Watch You Crash
- Joey
- Summer Romance
- Lost In The Salvation Army
- Dwell On It
- Too Fond
- All You Knew
- Freak On The Street
- Figure It Out
Lacking the talent to actually play in a band, Tom decided he would write about bands instead. Turns out his writing skills are mediocre at best as well.
