Sunshine Committee
- Rock
- 2009
- Buy the CD
Reviewed by Lee Zimmerman
So credit the band with carrying on and exercising their musical options even if most of the world continues to turn away. Fortunately for the uninitiated, there’s still ample opportunity to catch up, thanks to a recent spurt of activity that includes a children’s album from the band’s de facto leader Adam Levy – perkily titled Bunny Clogs – an instrumental effort released last year, I Can’t Feel the Beating, and this new EP, resiliently dubbed Sunshine Committee. While some fans may be disappointed with its brevity, all six songs measure up to the best the band has ever offered, proving a welcome reminder of why the Honeydogs deserve, and indeed demand, wider acclaim.
If the EP’s name seems somewhat sunny in a psychedelic sort of way, there’s good reason. The majority of these songs deliberately reference retro influences, and given the ample doses of déjà vu, the familiarity factor is sufficiently fueled. Consequently, several selections offer opportunity to sound check the sources of inspiration, from the ragged sway and swagger of the title track, which recalls the debauched Stones circa their Exile era, to the catchy guitar riff that intros "Balaclava" while bringing to mind a Beatles riff that sounds as if it was appropriated from Revolver. So too, "Levers, Pulleys & Pumps" might otherwise be mistaken for an outtake from Electric Ladyland just as "Stash" funks up the proceedings a la Sly and the Family Stone.
Inevitably, there’s a lesson in all this and though it may not be deliberate, the point is clear regardless. The Honeydogs worship all things rock ‘n’ roll, and given the evidence displayed herein, their depth of devotion couldn’t be clearer.
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