The AV Club

The AV Club's debut album features songs about "love, divorce, devotion, obsession, social alcoholism, secret lust, getting old, the romantic implications of public transit, and the destruction of an abstinence pledge at the hands of a girl in desperate need of a dye job". It's the kind of release we rarely receive here at Now Wave -- no doubt due to our less-than-embracing stance on "indie" rock. But if all indie rock sounded like this, we'd gladly review more of it! How refreshing it is to hear a band that's so completely about songs.  
 
Alt-rock trio The AV Club doesn't hide behind a pretty-boy image or breakneck tempos or a lengthy list of too-cool influences. It's all about melody and voice and lyrics, and the craft of putting it all together into songs that are both tuneful and deeply moving. AV Club singer/guitarist Aaron Carr is a remarkably talented songwriter. His melodies memorable and infectious, his voice warm and engaging, his lyrics clever and poignant, Carr revives the lost art of middle of the road alternative rock. In tandem with an absolutely terrific rhythm section (hard-hitting drummer Jens Guettel, rock-solid bassist Jon Moser), he delivers a delightful mix of punchy rockers and beautiful, aching ballads. If you need familiar reference points, Buffalo Tom, Wilco, later Replacements, and Soul Asylum will get you in the ballpark. And while the more upbeat numbers are swell, I'm especially fond of the tracks that capture the sadness, confusion, and bittersweet nature of adult love. Listening to "Degrees of Grey", it's easy to imagine the AV Club as the band playing in a lost My So Called Life episode -- the pretty, melancholic music playing over scenes of Angela sitting outside crying while Jordan Catalano sucks the face of some airheaded floozy in the back of the club. But although this band sounds so very '93-'95 alt-rock that it's impossible to believe that Winona Ryder hasn't attempted to go to bed with all three members, there's nothing dated or retro about these songs. This is music that does not go out of style -- unaffected, well-constructed pop/rock songs with great lyrics and melodies to die for. "Trouble Girls" and "Girl From Mars" are two of the year's catchiest songs, and fall close enough to powerpop territory to interest the typical Now Wave reader. The former, strikingly reminiscent of Squeezing Out Sparks era Graham Parker, just might force me to rethink my proclamation that Tyvek's "Honda" is the best song of 2006. And if I ruled the world, any radio programmer who passed on "Lost My Head" or "Fall Down" would be fired, beaten, and possibly deported.  
 
I love the fact that so many of these songs make me laugh and cry, that I can relate them to my own experiences or imagine myself right there in the middle of the story. The album's opening line ("I don't know anyone who's happy/So why should we be?") is a zinger of Westerbergian proportions. "Midnight Bus" sounds like the short story I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to write for years, beautifully realized in song. "Girl From Mars" will strike a chord with anyone who's gotten so frustrated with the dating scene that the possibility of searching another planet for a mate seemed like the only remaining option. And then there's "Crazy Circles", which is so brilliantly and appealingly disturbing that it makes me laugh and shudder all at once.  
 
The AV Club is the kind of album where you're constantly saying, "Oh, I like this song!" and "Wait, I love this one too!" Every time I play it, a different song stands out and sounds to me like the "hit". But this is truly a disc chock full of hits. It's no duds, all gems. This is music I love to listen while I'm driving late at night or sitting alone with a beer in my hand, thinking about life. And while I hate to overuse superlatives like "album of the year", I'd be hard-pressed to name a record I've liked better than this one in 2006. What a great first album, and I cannot wait for the next one. These guys BETTER not break up!  - Now Wave

Power pop from three guys from CT who sound like they spend all day in the library and all night at the bar. Coming from pop-punk roots, The AV Club succeed where most other modern power rock acts fail in that they understand the pop part of 'power pop.' Melodies and harmonies abound on this disc. Songs like "Sweethearts at 17", "Midnight Bus" and " Everybody Sees My Love" make me want to borrow my brothers car (they curiously also makes me want a brother), pick up my girlfriend, park it on the hill overlooking the town and furiously make out while this album is playing full blast. Well done boys. Alex Chilton would be proud.
 
–Oliver Lyons - Jersey Beat

Melodic catchy upbeat pop in the same general vein as Big Star and The Young Fresh Fellows. This is the debut album from New Haven, Connecticut's The AV Club. Instead of playing popular sounding modern pop or alternative noise, these fellows play pure pop straight from the hip with no unnecessary fillers. Songs are what make the band...and songs are what this band is all about. These folks aren't treading any new territory...nor are they trying to. Rather than attempting to be overly clever and innovative, these folks are just playing good solid rock and roll. Buzzsaw guitars, killer leads, spunky vocals, and a driving rhythm section combine to create a cool and upbeat catchy wall of sound. Neat keepers include "Sweethearts at 17," "Degrees of Grey," "Midnight Bus," "Don't Take That Part of Me." Excellent. (Rating: 5+) - Baby Sue

March 24, 2006
 
Aaron Carr looks at empty seats in a rock club the same way a priest might see vacant church pews on the 363 days of the year that aren't Christmas or Easter: as determinants of who the truly righteous are.
 
"I believe in rock 'n' roll," said Carr, lead singer of local power-pop trio the AV Club, at a decidedly less-than-packed Cafe Nine in New Haven Wednesday night. "If you're here on a Wednesday night, I've got to believe you do, too."
 
Talk about turning lemons into lemonade. Carr's words set the stage perfectly for his band's music, which channeled the Gin Blossoms through the Replacements, completely overshadowing the set performed later by the Churchills, the headiners.
 
Buoyed by the solid bass playing of Jon Moser and steady drums of Jens Guettel, the AV Club worked the room as well as it could have been worked. Tunes such as "Fall Down" and "Everybody Sees My Love," which had shades of Tom Petty, demonstrated the group's knack for spreading the gospel of rock, even on lonely nights. - Hartford Courant