Sunday, June 1, 2008

Anthemic Pop Wonder - Rapid Pop Thrills - 2002


Anthemic Pop Wonder's Rapid Pop Thrills is a wonderfully apt name for a gloriously unabashed album that is equal parts wobbly, enthusiastic guitar muscle and hooky pop/rock. A good reference point is Guided by Voices' Bee Thousand (or the less-cryptic moments of Alien Lanes), for Anthemic Pop Wonder has the same gleeful, serendipitous approach to tune-craft as GBV. "Masterminds" funnels blunt yet snappy lyrics ("Free time, no way/Success à la mode/Install the disk and take to the road/Your life, monsieur, it figures into the Plan") through early Who or Creation guitar crunch. "Let Go in a Song" threads a clever but simple riff and appealingly nerdy vocals through a new wave romp, while "Free From Fear" goes straight for the heartfelt, guitar-charged anthem jugular in an appealingly ragged way. This N.Y.C. outfit comes out ahead in a big way with this collection of ear-pleasing and unpretentious guitar pop. -AMG

If you like "Rapid Pop Thrills" get it here!

1 comment:

Dfactor said...

Curty Ray - Thanks for posting info on Rapid Pop Thrills, the 2002 CD from Anthemic Pop Wonder, my NYC band/recording project from 1998-2004.

I recorded these songs mostly solo during a post 9/11 unemployment period after the breakup of the live band APW in August 2001. And I've put out two CDs since then - "Supersonic Lullabies" and "Say Yeah!" - find them at CD Baby.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin