![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/orangepeels_2020a.jpg\")
“Happy listening.”<\/p>\n“Happy listening.”<\/p>\n
That was the message handwritten on a post-it from The Orange Peels<\/strong>‘ Allen Clapp. Owing to a slight mix-up in messaging, I ended up receiving a copy of the group’s new album 2020<\/em> directly from the band. In any event, Clapp’s sentiment couldn’t be more apt; in fact that two-word phrase is a near-perfect summation of the audio experience that is The Orange Peels’ 2020<\/em>. As close to a perfect example of 21st century pop (in the best sense of that word), 2020<\/em> is a varied, charming effort that brings together some of the finest pop traditions.<\/p>\n And in doing so, 2020<\/em> sounds little like the work of an indie band from California. The five-piece is based in the aptly-named Sunnyvale — the perfect name of a town that hosts creators of such upbeat, fun and catchy music. (In fact, Sunnyvale is situated near the south end of San Francisco Bay.)<\/p>\n Possessing a good amount of that precious indie cred, The Orange Peels have released a few albums of their particular brand of pop (2020<\/em> is their fourth). But…don’t tell the kids it’s pop. Let them go right on thinking it’s indie rock. Because it is, really. The music of The Orange Peels’ 2020<\/em> draws unabashedly from some of the highest quality influences. Yet they pick and choose their touchstones, so one can’t easily peg The Orange Peels as slavish followers of a particular style or trend. Yes, you’ll hear Mellotron<\/a> string parts, electric sitars, hand claps, those kinds of things. But you’ll also be treated to an early 80s alterna-vibe and guitars that in turn soar and crunch.<\/p>\n Charting a rockier path than labelmates Papas Fritas<\/strong>, The Orange Peels do in fact rock, but they sweeten the mix with impossibly catchy hooks — you older folks, think of the Raspberries as a group with a similar approach (but not a similar sound).<\/p>\n The disc opens with “We’re Gonna Make It.” The tune starts out something like the La’s<\/strong> transcendent “There She Goes” but quickly shifts gears into a Cars<\/strong>-like, stuttering, staccato arrangement and lead guitar figure. String synth and harmonies imbue the song with a sunny ambience. “Seaside Holiday” is bouncy and melodic like the best early 80s Britpop.<\/p>\n In “Shining Like Stars,” a loud and charmingly skewed guitar riff forms a central musical motif. Though built on a musical foundation reminiscent of Blondie<\/strong>‘s “One Way or Another,” the song — destined for hit status in a just world — is as wholly original as pop gets.<\/p>\n Despite an opening figure that may conjure memories of England Dan & John Ford Coley<\/strong>‘s 1976 MOR hit “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” the song “Birds of a Feather” primarily features that 1967 pop sound so loved by the makers of iPhone commercials. In fact, the gorgeous “Birds of a Feather” would fit perfectly on the Zombies<\/strong>‘ Odessey and Oracle<\/em> (sic), a pop classic from, well, 1968.<\/p>\n But don’t start thinking that The Orange Peels are stuck on some sixties trip. On the lovely “Jane Lane” the band delivers a lush pop vibe familiar to fans of Prefab Sprout<\/strong>‘s 1985 classic “When Love Breaks Down.” Yet “Jane Lane” serves up an even stronger melody and a welcome harder edge than McAloon’s group.<\/p>\n The groups mixes it up as well. The midtempo dream-pop of “Emily Has Told Me Why” features a guitar riff straight out of Queen<\/strong> by way of Jellyfish<\/strong>. “Charmed Life” — featuring vocals by drummer\/multi-instrumentalist Bob Vickers — has hints of skiffle and pub rock; in fact the tune wouldn’t be out of place on Nick Lowe<\/strong>‘s Jesus of Cool<\/em><\/a>, a late 70s Kinks <\/strong>album or a late 80s Jazz Butcher<\/strong> album.<\/p>\n And that’s merely six of 2020<\/em>‘s ten tunes. The remaining four are every bit as delightful. Throughout the album, The Orange Peels navigate the narrow path between sugary pop and hooky riff-rock. Despite its being released at the tail-end of December 2009, the album made this reviewer’s list of top albums<\/a> of that year.<\/p>\n It’s clear to see that 2020<\/em> is the best of both pop and rock worlds. As Allen Clapp says, happy listening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Happy listening.” That was the message handwritten on a post-it from The Orange Peels‘ Allen Clapp. Owing to a slight mix-up in messaging, I ended up receiving a copy of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,65],"tags":[1626],"class_list":["post-145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pop","category-review","tag-orange-peels","cat-51-id","cat-65-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18196,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145\/revisions\/18196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}