The Get Quick

The Get Quick -- How The Story Goes (Rainbow Quartz): I got a chance to see this Philadelphia band at the Chicago edition of International Pop Overthrow, and I was very impressed. This album cements my impression. The Get Quick are a nice mix of mod rock, ‘60s pop and power pop. Their songs have familiar elements, but they make them unique, both with their strong playing and personality, and throwing in some new ideas into the mix. A few surprises can make a good song great. "New Plimsoles" is the early highlight, a song that uses some James Bond/spy movie bass guitar lines and a superb arrangement (dynamics rule!) to set up a sucker punch, come out of nowhere hook. This song is cool in about 17 different ways and is just jammed with great ideas. One of the best songs to come out in 2005. Nothing can equal that, but there are some other strong tracks. On "Happy", a familiar R & B-inspired rhythm is combined with some good swooning vocals. When the sax comes in, there's somewhat of a glam rock vibe (think Roxy Music). Yet this doesn't quite sound like either a glam or an R & B song. Whatever it is, it works. Another creatively arranged song is "I Heard About You", which mixes lament slow tempos with perky mid-tempo rhythms, sounding like a musical mood swing. The Get Quick pulls this off with aplomb, using the arrangement to highlight the lyrics, not just to show off. Not every song here is so inventive, but they have such a good grasp of rock and roll, that every tune has a hook or two. In a couple spots, they remind me just a wee bit of Off Broadway and The Scruffs. This is an stellar record. parasol.com - Fufkin

Every five years or so, some Philadelphia-based band makes one killer psych-pop album. First there was the Original Sins' Move, followed by the Lilys' Better Can't Make Your Life Better, followed by the Asteroid No. 4's King Richard's Collectibles. Like clockwork, about a half-decade after the last of those, here's the debut from Philly's the Get Quick, and it might be the best of the lot. The opening "Live Without It" makes the album's sonic antecedents clear, with a vocal harmony line and main guitar riff eerily similar to the Flamin' Groovies' "Yes It's True," itself a near-rewrite of various Searchers and Beau Brummels hits. Following that is the new wave grind of "New Plimsoles," with its killer snot-rock distorted guitar riff and squealing sax interjections. The rest of the album flits between those two styles, jangly Beatlesque power pop, and a noisier, heavier brand of art-psych freakbeat. Thanks to the trio's arranging skills (violins and organ regularly join those saxes, which enliven enough of the songs that they should invite guest reedsman David Fishkin to join the band full time) and singer/guitarist Erik Evol's songwriting chops, the combination makes for an incredibly entertaining listen. Particular highlights include the jittery "Blaue Reiter" (Evol's tribute to the German post-impressionists) and "Happy," a driving, anthemic song that makes an uncredited encore at the album's end. Every song on How the Story Goes is a winner, and the album as a whole is one of the most entertaining underground pop releases of 2005. Rating 4 Stars - Allmusic Guide