CD Review

What do you get when you mix five musicians from Dublin, Ireland and tag them with a band name creatively called "The Thrills?" Off the island comes a release that sounds dipped in a rich 70’s California vibe that you’d swear these musicians have been beach bums, tuning surfboards and driving their V Dubs along the coast the past thirty years. So much for another "the" band playing off the New York City limelight. The Thrills’ debut So Much For The City, is wheel high in California loving (Santa Cruz, Big Sur, and Hollywood gleam in particular song titles), it’s a wonder how these Irishmen got the left coast so right.

The first number "Santa Cruz (You’re Not That Far)" echoes in Beach Boys three part harmonies, but with a little neat addition – banjos, and vintage keyboards – shooting the band a roots element missed by their wall of sound friendly predecessors. "Big Sur" which contains elements of the theme from "The Monkees" along side its confessional lyrics, comes off a winner, with a steady banjo lead by Daniel Ryan and the songs central hooking melodies. Ryan’s banjo is perhaps the band’s secret weapon, alongside Conor Deasy’s soft and squeaky Neil Youngish heartfelt vocals, providing the band and album with a confident one two punch on Byrdesque tunes like "One Horse Town." Meanwhile perhaps the jewel of the album in the two minute and fifty second pop sophisticated "Don’t Steal Our Sun," a soft rock/country fan’s wet dream.

The first half of the album in splendidly candid and refreshing but the songs steer a bit sour toward the end, perhaps providing a bit too much a taste of yesteryear. Songs like "Your Love Is Like Las Vegas," borrow too much from someone that you just can’t put your ear exactly on on. But The Thrills do grow on you and like a sentimental and familiar record, So Much For The City possesses as Neil Young once said in one of his rare forgettable tunes - "Staying Power."