Triple Play #1

 By Henry Lipput

This is the first of a Triple Play series containing a trio of albums I’ve been enjoying. First up are releases from Marshall Holland, Nick Frater, and The Dupont Circles. 

Marshall Holland

Pop tunesmith Marshall Holland’s Paper Airplane (Bandcamp/Mystery Lawn Music) is full of glorious pop tunes that show off a voice that will remind you of McCartney and his heirs Glenn Tilbrook and David Mead.

And it’s not only the voice: many of the songs on Paper Airplane are influenced by the music of the 60’s and 70’s but Holland has put them in a blender and made them his own. For example, the opening track, “Our Fate,” with its pounding drumbeat, electric guitar fills, and some synth would have fit nicely on early Squeeze albums.

“When The Rain Comes” is straight from 60’s AM radio heaven. The lovely, acoustic “A Hand Holds A Bird” has a beautiful, just-right string arrangement supporting his vocal. It’s a sound that recalls McCartney songs from “I Will” to Egypt Station’s “Happy With You.”

“I’m Checking Out” has a Gene Clark-era Byrds vibe. The title track has shimmering lead guitar, layered vocals, and synths; a wonderful coda repeats the lyric line “We’ll take a ride on my paper airplane” and the song just lifts off like, well like a paper airplane. And “Look Into My Eyes” is the kind of melancholy pop that Emitt Rhodes was known for.

Nick Frater

Nick Frater’s Fast & Loose (Big Stir Records) begins with an instrumental title song that sounds like the Attractions covering a Booker T and the MGs track. “Let’s Hear It For Love” has a big sound and is ELO without the sheen that Jeff Lynne added to nearly everything he produced. “Luna” and “California Waits” are upbeat pop tunes with really fine 70’s AM radio sounds.

But it’s the ballads that really shine on Fast & Loose. “That Ship Has Sailed” is lovely and its ingredients recall McCartney and Tears For Fears circa Songs From The Big Chair. It’s less than two minutes long but you really want it to last longer. 

“Moonstruck” is another gem and the bridge with “I don’t know what you see in the dark/Satellites and falling stars/Ambulances passing cars” is a wonderful little section. And “Endless Summertime Blues” is wonderful with its flugelhorn intro and a very Bacharach feel.

The Dupont Circles

Thirty years (give or take) in the making, The Dupont Circles from Washington, D.C., have finally released their debut album In Search of the Family Gredunza (The Beautiful Music).

Working with the band over the last five years, Wally Salem’s The Beautiful Music label put together an album that covers all of The Dupont Circles sounds from jangle and garage to mid-60’s British pop.

R.E.M. was one of the most influential American bands of the 1980s. So it’s not surprising that early songs from The Dupont Circles, like “Everywhere Girl“ and “My Picasso Girlfriend,“ have the joyous jangle that Peter Buck inherited from Roger McGuinn and George Harrison.

At other times, The Dupont Circles put down their Rickenbackers and turned up the volume on a cheesy organ to make a sound that harked back to The Sir Douglas Quintet and ? And the Mysterians. “How I Learned To Love The Bomb” and “Sarah The Weather Girl” are perfect examples and “Get Down Off My Back” is The Rolling Stones’ ”Get Off Of My Cloud” played by a bar band. 

In between, The Dupont Circles dipped their toes into Ray Davies territory. “Man In The Snuff Shop” is a musical mind meld between Peter Buck and The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society. “Tales Of Flossie Fillet” is a delightful call back to mid-period Kinks’ songs like “Dedicated Follower Of Fashion” and “Sunny Afternoon.”

Next time: The Nature Strip branches out