Things That Go Pop!
Aside from lip-syncing, the real legacy of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand was infamously “raving” endorsements. When it came down to pop music, those kids just wanted to dance. Things That Go Pop!’s eponymous debut LP pulls the local pop-post-punk quartet out of the garage and onto the dance floor. As evidenced from the one track reincarnated on TTGP! from earlier EP Pop Yourself, “Bright Colors,” the band has been born again with the help of keyboards and a newfound appreciation of the hi-hat. Opener “Teenage Plastic” is just jarring enough to make hipsters dance, and the futuristic-Eighties “Backbeat Testament” meets the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O head on. Where the disc falters is in its gelatinous midsection. “Lorraine” is all bark and no bite, “When Men Attack” is a total downer, and “Animal Animal” is old hat. By the time the therapeutic “She’s Too Sexy” rolls around, however, the band has prismed into a coat of many colors. Multi-instrumentalist Andy Klier’s trained vox and Josh Batschelet’s attitudinal bass (the sexy voice of “Rock n’ Roll Leisure Class”) broaden TTGP!’s horizons. For now, though, it has a good beat, and you can dance to it.
This article appears in September 16 • 2005.