Four State Solution<\/i><\/a>. Inside the package (cleverly adorned with faux-Russian Realist artwork) were a dozen songs, variously composed by one, two, three and sometimes even four of the musicians; Four State Solution<\/i> truly exemplified the collaborative approach.<\/p>\nAs I noted at the time of its release, that album’s style echoed some of the harder-rocking material of the Spongetones. But it had its own character, a sum-of-the-parts feel that allowed it to stand proudly on its own, not in the shadow of earlier work by its most well-known participant.<\/p>\n
Nearly three years later, Pop Co-op returns with a new album, Factory Settings<\/i>. Listeners who find themselves looking for a tuneful, chiming good time will delight in the album. Stoeckel’s \u201cNo Man’s Land\u201d was written and recorded long before the Covid-13 pandemic spread across the globe, but the song’s lyrics can be read to apply to the situation. Happily, from a musical standpoint it’s not at all downbeat: an insistent drum foundation is adorned with lovely vocal harmonies (Stoeckel’s singing lead), and some twin lead guitar during the instrumental break harks back to the classic rockers who used that approach: Boston, Thin Lizzy, Wishbone Ash and the like. The tune rocks, but there’s a reason this group isn’t called Rock Co-op: pop music values lay at the songs’ centers.<\/p>\n
With its peppy hand claps, upper-register bass lines and shimmering guitars, \u201cKissing Katy\u201d would have been right at home on a Spongetones record. But the democratic nature of this collective means that it’s varied in character. Carson’s nervy \u201cFlows of Attraction\u201d sounds like early-mid period XTC with octave-apart unison vocals reminiscent of Squeeze. The song’s middle section stars off subtly and then shifts gears into a wonderfully catchy lead guitar solo. Tinnel’s virtuoso progeny Alex guests on piano for Carson’s \u201cKeen to Be Near You.\u201d Stoeckel turns in a nicely understated vocal. The song’s instrumental backing makes prominent use of a clattering yet simple drum part and lush strings. A brief mandolin (or ukulele?) solo adds even more variety.<\/p>\n
It’s back to Merseybeat stylings for the irresistible \u201cCatching Light, a Stoeckel-Carson co-write. It may well be the strongest tune on the record, reminiscent a bit of Oh Yeah!<\/i> era Spogetones yet never explicitly aping that group’s sound (a quirky bridge helps in that regard; it sounds more like \u2013 again \u2013 XTC).<\/p>\n
One of Factory Settings<\/i>‘ three group-composed tunes, \u201cUnderworld\u201d is a soaring power pop track redolent of the Producers. Its searing lead guitar solo makes the track even more memorable, and the song’s extended outro folds in some vaguely psychedelic elements. \u201cTo the Sea\u201d features Stoeckel on lead vocals and ukulele. The atmospheric, contemplative song has a bridge that evokes thoughts of Sgt. Pepper<\/i>, and the bluesy guitar break is an unexpected musical curve ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cCliff of a Year\u201d is a nicely textured album track that makes good use of vocal crosstalk: the voices head in different yet complementary directions, recombining here and there. The intertwining lines are hypnotic. \u201cKing of Weightless\u201d kicks off in a dreamy fashion, but it quickly shifts into something much more complex. Trying to follow the song is a slightly disorienting experience; the tune suggests what happens when progressive rock ideas are put into the pop idiom.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Price of Admission\u201d puts Pop Co-op back on more familiar territory. It’s the sound of composer Stoeckel digging into the glam rock of the early ’70s for inspiration. Big, swaggering guitars and carefully-placed \u201cWhoo-hoo!\u201d backing vocal choruses are the order of the day here. Despite its title suggesting otherwise, Stoeckel’s \u201cPersistence of Memory\u201d is a gentle love song, not a tribute to Salvador Dal\u00ed. Gentle acoustic guitar picking is joined in the song’s second half by overdubbed vocal harmonies.<\/p>\n
The danceworthy \u201cWon’t Be Me\u201d is the outlier on Factory Settings<\/i>. You’ve heard the melody before \u2013 on hundreds of pre-1960 rockers and most of George Thorogood albums \u2013 but it’s a fun romp nonetheless. Perhaps it’s best to think of it as the album’s \u201cRingo spotlight\u201d number. Alex Tinnel’s barroom piano solo gives way to a Chuck Berry-flavored guitar break.<\/p>\n
Tinnel and Stoeckel’s \u201cRequiescat\u201d features a sophisticated and atmospheric opening section; as that drifts away, the song heads into waltz mode with a melancholy air. Factory Settings<\/em> closes with the group-written \u201cSleeve.\u201d The song takes a moment to find its groove, but once it does, \u201cSleeve\u201d \u2013 the longest track on the record \u2013 pulls out all the stops. The arrangement shifts between quiet, contemplative verses and swing-for-the-fences choruses. The orchestration that takes prominence for the track’s second half is superb, with cellos and brass engaging in dialogue with keening lead guitar. It’s a breathtaking manner in which to wrap up a consistently well-crafted album.<\/p>\nPerhaps too eclectic to be labeled powerpop, too sophisticated to qualify as meat ‘n’ potatoes rock’n’roll, in the end, the second album from this far-flung foursome is just what the group’s name says it is: pop. And it’s pop of the very best kind.<\/p>\n
Standout tracks: \u201cCatching Light,\u201d \u201cThe Price of Admission,\u201d \u201cSleeve.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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It was more than a decade ago when the Spongetones released what would turn out to be their final album, Scrambled Eggs<\/i>. The group went out (recording-wise) on a high note, with a collection of songs that stood nicely against a backdrop of great albums going all the way back to 1982’s Beat Music<\/i>. But for ardent fans of the group’s body of work \u2013 both Beatles-styled songs and tracks that reached farther afield for their influences \u2013 there would be a sense of loss when it became clear that the Charlotte, North Carolina band wasn’t likely to convene in a recording studio again.<\/p>\n