Class Three Overbite

Class Three Overbite ... now that sounds rather unpleasant from an orthodontic point of view. As far as a band name though, I must give these guys bonus points for originality. I’m always a fan of bands that take the time to create truly unique (and sometimes rather odd) names. Of course, one can’t judge a band by its name alone, so how does a group that claims to sound like a mish-mash of Queen, Jellyfish, the Beatles, and Kiss handle themselves? Quite well, actually.
Being a hopelessly devoted fan of those influences myself, I can hear a lot of Queen and the Beatles within Michael Elgert and Bradley Jendza’s songs. While the title track features a vocal styling paying tribute to the incomparable Freddie Mercury, the rest of the singing reminded me a great deal of Brian May in his Queen album tracks or solo outings. This is, of course, far from a bad thing. There’s a sweet feel to Elgert and Jendza’s vocals that really make the album shine. That’s not to take anything away from the music itself of course. Songs such as “Life is a Piece of Cake” and “Milkshake” take a cue from the very melodic guitar sound Brain May pioneered. Not to mention any Beatles fan will find a lot to love in “No Good Rotten” and “Eager.”
Now one thing must be made clear: while featuring a great deal of influence, Class Three Overbite is in no way a Queen or Beatles rip-off. If anything, they learned extremely well from their heroes and became a band all their own. The fact is there’s a lot of variety to find on Rendezvous. The title track offers upbeat disco-rock flair, while a song like “Do It” has a slight funk feel to it. “My Funeral’s” acoustic, bouncy sound not only does well to round out the nearing conclusion but also becomes one of the catchiest songs on the entire album. I do warn you; expect to find yourself humming the chorus later. Simply put: Class Three Overbite has range, and they’re not afraid to show it.
Other reviewers have cited “No Good Rotten” as the stand-out track. I won’t deny that it’s a wonderful song. I’d even go as far as saying it has some of the best lyrics on the entire album. There’s going to be a lot of people out there who will relate to lines such as “Unforgiving, no good rotten lover, you seem sad but I’m so glad it’s over.” However, my nod has to go to “Milkshake,” which is classic glam-rock to the core with the riffs to prove it. The song does exactly what an opening track should do: it grabs your attention, pulls you in, and doesn’t let you go. Not only is there enough infectious guitar work, but the lyrics feature the kind of rock and roll swagger you can’t help but love:
Take a sip of my Milkshake honey,
Take a drink of my wine,
I can make you so wealthy baby,
I can show you a good time.
Take a sip of my Milkshake honey,
Take a drink of my wine,
I can touch all your naughty places,
I can show you a good time ...
Charismatic lyrics such as these make rock and roll just plain fun and exciting. They allow Class Three Overbite to show yet another side of themselves to go along with the lighthearted, chord striking, and even a little comical styles that make up the rest of the album. All of this blends together so well to form an all around solid Indie album that I’m sure no Pop-rock fan would want to miss.
Also be glad I went the entire review without making a “Be sure to make a rendezvous with this album” crack ....... aww nuts.

Thomas Szewc - www.indie-music.com
- www.indie-music.com

Go right now, listen to "No Good Rotten". Can't get enough of this one and there's more where that came from. Although, this album is not all such Jellyfish inspired ditties, for fans of Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. there is a lot of Imperial Drag's 70's hard pop fetishisms here to add into the mix. Yup, there's some late 70s Queen that pops in and out "Life Is A Piece Of Cake" is a good example but it's all over the place, which is a very good thing!) . Class Three Overbite is a duo of Mike Elgert and Bradley Jendza. Elgert, whose "Days Gone By" is a must purchase (just a first-class indie power pop release all the way), has found a cool foil in Jendza as they bounce their many talents off each other and wind around many different place stylistically but it's all about 'the pop', beginning to end. The arrangements are accomplished and ambitious and all the songs are sweetly filled with layers of vocals and affects, this is a varied, textured album that makes their ambition and skill abundantly clear. Their songwriting approach reaches high but provide killer pay off in the hooks and melody departments--mandatory expectations here at Not Lame. The highest of high Extremely Highly Recommended here!
www.notlame.com
- www.notlame.com

Bradley Jendza and Mike Elgert (whose Days Gone By release made our "Best of 2006" list) absolutely astound here with Rendezvous, an album jam-packed with pop/rock goodness. Rendezvous is a blast to listen to as it’s loaded with great songs of varied styles, all wonderfully executed and expertly performed and arranged. Check out the disco-flavored title track, the Queen meets Jellyfish-like sweetness of "No Good Rotten" and the riff-heavy 70's guitar rock of "Milkshake". Prepare to be knocked out by this one! Featured Tracks: "Milkshake", "Rendezvous", "No Good Rotten"
www.whitsbrain.com

- www.whitsbrain.com

If you're old enough, just close your eyes and picture the scene in your head: you're sitting on the floor of a wood-paneled basement with wall-to-wall carpet and you've wearing a pair of headphones listening to the latest rock LP you bought from the local record store for $4.99. The year is 1976. Now open them. You're sitting in front of a computer listening to mp3s and the year is 2007. Either way, it works for Class Three Overbite's Rendezvous, a gem of a disc that will appeal to rockers young and old. Class Three Overbite is the brainchild of Mike Elgert and Bradley Jendza. Elgert should be familiar to power pop fans and readers of this site; his Days Gone By placed a cool 59 on last year's Absolute Powerpop Top 100. But whereas Days Gone By was more straightforward Jellyfish/Superdrag-inspired power pop, Rendezvous is more in debt to 70s glam and "corporate rock". The opener "Milkshake" sounds like one of Tommy Shaw's Styx tracks; the title track, with almost a danceable disco beat, reminds me of none other than Kiss's "I Was Made For Loving You", their stab at disco-rock. "No Good Rotten" is my favorite track on the album, with a heavy Queen influence - but more the Queen of Brian May than Freddie Mercury, and "Life Is a Piece of Cake" is cut from the same cloth. And "What's So Funny" is probably the album's quintessential track, trading folky verses with a glam-rocking chorus. www.absolutepowerpop.com

- www.absolutepowerpop.com

Pure, undiluted sophisticated power pop when delivered with aplomb and verve is a sight to behold. Typically, one is dealing with dense instrumental/vocal arrangements and melodically superior material. Now, let me be clear, in this particular definition I would include the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Zombies, Todd Rundgren, ELO, 10cc, Queen, Jellyfish and even Prince.
Well, thank goodness for Class Three Overbite who takes out an ambitious page from the storied books of the above luminaries. This latest album pulls out all the stops to deliver a eclectic sounding palette that will appeal to serious music listeners of all ages.
From the opening turbo-charged faux soul of Storm’s Coming to the spine-tingling wall of sound chamber pop charm of Sunshine to the McCartneyesque acoustic guitar-pickin’ Show the World to the slinky funked-up Porn Addict to the wah-wah led throbbing Beck-channeling Lex Luthor, Horses for Courses is a heady trip into the wonders of pristine power pop. And as the last gorgeous chords of the anthemic You’d Better Love rings, you’re left contemplating the completeness of this tangible evidence that if you look hard enough in this jaded, humorless and tuneless modern rock scene, you will still find beauty and grace that belonged to better days. Let Class Three Overbite take you there…
- www.powerofpop.com

YEAH! Big TIME “Yeah!”. Please, Please – don’t read what’s here – just listen to all the music I put below. When music this good comes out, believe it or not, it’s hard for me write about it because my instinct is just to say “Don’t read, Listen!” This is one of those times. No question, will be in Top 10 List Of 2008. No Doubt.
Now, as you read these words, I hope you humored me a bit and if you didn’t like what you heard, you would be reading this as a supplement to that experience. SO what did we all experience, ya think? Me(and I have the benefit of hearing the whole album) it’s got so much that is SOO “Not Lame”. I hear some early Queen, Imperial Drag(yup, and some Jellyfish goes along w/ that), Electric Light Orchestra(Track 3 below), Bryan Scary, Roger Joseph Manning’s solo work and a whole host of others, but the band is not mimicking while it wallows in its insprirational launch-pads here with this killer batch of 12 songs(and not a bad one in the bunch!). There’s an encyclopedic embrace of just lots of great musical inspirations all over the place.
Class Three Overbite is a duo of Mike Elgert and Bradley Jendza. Elgert, whose "Days Gone By" is a must purchase(just a first-class indie power pop release all the way), has found a cool foil in Jendza as they bounce their many talents off each other and wind around many different place stylistically but it's all about 'the pop', beginning to end. The arrangements are accomplished and ambitious and all the songs are sweetly filled with layers of vocals and affects, this is a varied, textured album that makes their ambition and skill abundantly clear. As I said with their debut, “Rendezvous”, their songwriting approach reaches high but provide killer pay off in the hooks and melody departments--mandatory expectations here at Not Lame. The highest of high Extremely Highly Recommended here!
- www.notlame.com

Mike Elgert and Brad Jendza have done it again. The duo known as Class Three Overbite has followed up their 2007 debut Rendezvous with perhaps an ever better disc this time with Horses for Courses. Lots of bands can capture the sound of the 70s, but few can capture its spirit, and CTO are one of those bands. Equal parts the sound of Queen, T-Rex, Jellyfish and other band who aren't afraid of putting some spunk in their power pop, Class Three Overbite still manages to not bite off more than it can chew.
That becomes apparent right off the bat with "Storm's Comin'", a cornucopia of falsetto vocalls, funky riffs, and guitars that rawk. If this one doesn't grab you, you may already be comatose. "Chasin' The Rabbit" sounds like a secular Rick Altizer fronting Queen, and "Sunshine" is Freddie Mercury gone flower child. "Reptiles" will make the day, if not week or month, of anyone who thinks the power pop world revolves around Jellyfish, and if there's any justice in the world, Paul Thomas Anderson will re-release the movie Boogie Nights with "Porn Addict" included in the soundtrack. "Wait For Me" is another standout with its Brian May guitar sound, "She Can't Make a Decision" is pure rock, and I always thought "Lex Luthor" deserved his own song. Finally, "You'd Better Love" is the perfect kind of overblown (and I mean that in a good way) power ballad to close out an album like this.
Coming back to their most profound influence, I'd say this is the best Queen album not named after a Marx Brothers movie that you'll find, and another year-end top-part-of-the-list contender to a year that started off slowly but is finishing strong.
- www.absolutepowerpop.com

Class Three Overbite's latest "Horses For Courses" deserves to be in heavy rotation on every Power Pop lover's playlist. It's apparent that the team of Mike Elgert and Bradley Jendza have really worked to create an exciting and rewarding experience for anyone lucky enough to hear it. And once you do hear it, you'll want to listen to it repeatedly. The talent and effort of Elgert and Jendza can be witnessed in the variety of the songs they perform and their attention to detail. My past listening experiences have taught me that I gravitate to a lot of the little things within a song, the extra care taken to provide a bit of something new revealed upon each listen. And I'm happy to report that there is a lot of that going on within the catchy confines of "Horses For Courses".
Class Three Overbite has assembled a collection of refreshingly different tunes that pay tribute to their influences but have their own unique sound. Melodic pop is the best overall description of the CD, but it flirts with dance, funk and some country-tinged acoustic pop as well.
Now that I've tried to describe the sound of Class Three Overbite, I'll state that their guitar work and vocals are better than ever. What about the songs themselves? The chorus of "Sunshine" and it's underlying orchestration will undoubtedly have you recalling ELO. The complexities and polish of "Dropping The Bombs" tips it's hat to the music of Adrian Belew and The Bears, while "Reptiles" and it's vocals and circus big top melody definitely has a Jellyfish vibe.
"Porn Addict" is a playful romp that is as radio-ready as anything on the album. It's upper register vocals and sleazy funk sound sticks instantly between the ears. One of the surprises you'll hear is "Wait For Me". It's a sparse, silky-smooth ballad that during it's last moments, reveals its desire to be a big arena rock beast. "She Can't Make A Decision" is a classic example of Class Three Overbite and their ability to put together a song that is as different as it is catchy. It's got a Stone Temple Pilots meets King's X flavor and it features some great guitar.
You can also dance to the driving beat behind "Lex Luthor". This song is loaded with those aforementioned little touches that add so much depth to the music. Again, it's great when bands sweat the details and there are plenty of examples of that here. And not to sound like a broken record about the guitar work, but this tune features an oh-so-sweet solo. "You'd Better Love" is a great closing song and is a very nice Lennon-flavored ballad with Beatles influences in abundance. You'd better do yourself a favor and treat yourself to Class Three Overbite's latest pop wonder.
Favorite Tracks: "She Can't Make A Decision", "Reptiles", "You'd Better Love"
- www.whitsbrain.com

Mike Elgert and Brad Jendza have added a big dose of funk to the power pop genre, that I haven't heard since Roger Manning Jr.'s Imperial Drag. This is pure power pop, no doubt with all the right touch points (Beatles, Beach Boys, Big Star, etc.). Everywhere I look on the internet, "Horses for Courses" is getting raves and kudos, and for good reason. Big thick guitar hooks on "Storm's Comin'" kicks out the jams, with glam organ and Hendrix-styled rhythm. "Chasing The Rabbit" takes the McCartney melodic chorus and adds a 10cc/Queen styled guitar attack that is pure bliss. "Sunshine" is mostly a smooth Queen-like ballad with sweet harmonies on top of orchestral strings and guitar solo breaks. Every single song here cranks up the goosebumps meter, even the ballad "Show The World" with it's "Mother Nature's Son" strum, shines with brilliance. The theatrical "Reptiles" with it's snarling guitar and elegant piano, drumbeat rhythm is on par with Bryan Scary and the Sheddding Tears. More 70's funk is found on "Porn Addict" and "Lex Luther" with a wah-wah sound that requires bellbottoms to dance to. The more muscular "She Can't Make A Decision" is a rocker along the lines of Kiss meets Stone Temple Pilots with the lead guitar swaggering along. With all this abundance of great music on one disc, Class Three Overbite easily makes my top ten of 2008 list this year. It should be on your list as well. 10. - www.powerpopaholic.blogspot.com

“And, like their brilliant debut, this one's got it all - the Jellyfish (the sugar sweet the hooks, the big sound, the harmonies), Queen (the Brian May-like guitars, the harmonies), Beatles (see the two previous references), and Kiss (the touch of Glam) influences. "So how does a group that claims to sound like a mish-mash of Queen, Jellyfish, the Beatles, and Kiss handle themselves? Quite well, actually. Being a hopelessly devoted fan of those influences myself, I can hear a lot of Queen and the Beatles within Michael Elgert and Bradley Jendza’s songs. Now one thing must be made clear: while featuring a great deal of influence, they are in no way a Queen or Beatles rip-off. If anything, they learned extremely well from their heroes and became a band all their own. Simply put: Class Three Overbite has range, and they’re not afraid to show it!" - Indie-Music.com These guys have quickly risen to the top of the Power Pop mountain with their two solid releases! If you're any kind of fan of any of the aforementioned bands, then you NEED this one! “ - www.koolkatmusik.com