Susan Frances
08/15/08, 05:38 PM
The Laureates - There Are No More Gentlemen
Record Label: Funambulist Recording Company
Release Date: November 11, 2008
I wasn’t around when the ‘60s NBC-TV show “Laugh-In” was big and hippie-stylized pop was the music of the day, but The Laureates bring that all back with their debut full-length album, There Are No More Gentlemen. If actor Mike Myers ever does another Austin Powers movie, The Laureates have music which is perfect for the soundtrack providing music that sounds as authentic as the ‘60s dance-pop icons The Monkees. There are moments when The Laureates are slightly more modern with a sound that’s relatable to Barenaked Ladies and The Cat Empire, but for the most part, their music is ‘60s dance-pop and has a vintage sound that makes you feel like you are in the middle of “Laugh-In’s Frug Party” scene. Even if you have never seen the show, you’ll get the idea after listening to a few tracks from the album.
The band’s hippie-tinged funk grooves, jangly dance-pop moves, and pony-hop beats on tracks like “My Association,” “Tomorrow Today,” and “A Novel Approach” could be songs straight out of the TV show “Laugh-In.” The upbeat doo-wop strut in the pinwheels on songs like “Nothing’s Perfect,” and “Furniture Moves” are shadowed in bobbing horns played by trombonist/guitarist Adam Penly and trumpeter/bassist Crawfie Ward while drummer Peter Gray holds the grooves firm and lead singer/guitarist/pianist Chad Preston cuffs the melodies in lively vocal hooks and a tenor pitch liken to the late Ian Curtis of Joy Division. Sometimes The Laureates songs show a Brit-rock intonation relatable to Joy Division like in the tunes “It’s Shattering” and the rumbling bass heavy “Witching Boots,” but the majority of the songs have a hippie-funk whipping that conjures up the image of a dance floor filled with people garbed in go-go boots, paisley prints, and bowl-shaped haircuts like The Beatles. Sometimes The Laureates jazz it up like The Cat Empire in “Coronation Now” or color their music with smooth soul like Morrissey in “Her Fiction,” and sometimes the band sounds as vintage as the ’60s Motown group, The Crystals like in their tune “I Want to Miss You.” The album bridges ’50s doo-wop with ‘60s dance-pop and modern day funk bringing all of these elements together in their track “Gentleman.”
The Laureates music has a lot of vintage substance and a few slits of modern soul-funk relatable to Morrissey and The Cat Empire. Overall, the album waves the banner for ’60s dance-pop to return to mainstream, or maybe the band feels like it is already here. Formed in 2005, The Laureates are like-minded musicians who play really tight, and they never show a doubt that the music they are playing is anything but a true expression of who they are today.
Barenaked Ladies, The Cat Empire, Morrissey, Joy Division, Buddy Holly
www.myspace.com/laureatesmusic (http://www.myspace.com/laureatesmusic)
Record Label: Funambulist Recording Company
Release Date: November 11, 2008
I wasn’t around when the ‘60s NBC-TV show “Laugh-In” was big and hippie-stylized pop was the music of the day, but The Laureates bring that all back with their debut full-length album, There Are No More Gentlemen. If actor Mike Myers ever does another Austin Powers movie, The Laureates have music which is perfect for the soundtrack providing music that sounds as authentic as the ‘60s dance-pop icons The Monkees. There are moments when The Laureates are slightly more modern with a sound that’s relatable to Barenaked Ladies and The Cat Empire, but for the most part, their music is ‘60s dance-pop and has a vintage sound that makes you feel like you are in the middle of “Laugh-In’s Frug Party” scene. Even if you have never seen the show, you’ll get the idea after listening to a few tracks from the album.
The band’s hippie-tinged funk grooves, jangly dance-pop moves, and pony-hop beats on tracks like “My Association,” “Tomorrow Today,” and “A Novel Approach” could be songs straight out of the TV show “Laugh-In.” The upbeat doo-wop strut in the pinwheels on songs like “Nothing’s Perfect,” and “Furniture Moves” are shadowed in bobbing horns played by trombonist/guitarist Adam Penly and trumpeter/bassist Crawfie Ward while drummer Peter Gray holds the grooves firm and lead singer/guitarist/pianist Chad Preston cuffs the melodies in lively vocal hooks and a tenor pitch liken to the late Ian Curtis of Joy Division. Sometimes The Laureates songs show a Brit-rock intonation relatable to Joy Division like in the tunes “It’s Shattering” and the rumbling bass heavy “Witching Boots,” but the majority of the songs have a hippie-funk whipping that conjures up the image of a dance floor filled with people garbed in go-go boots, paisley prints, and bowl-shaped haircuts like The Beatles. Sometimes The Laureates jazz it up like The Cat Empire in “Coronation Now” or color their music with smooth soul like Morrissey in “Her Fiction,” and sometimes the band sounds as vintage as the ’60s Motown group, The Crystals like in their tune “I Want to Miss You.” The album bridges ’50s doo-wop with ‘60s dance-pop and modern day funk bringing all of these elements together in their track “Gentleman.”
The Laureates music has a lot of vintage substance and a few slits of modern soul-funk relatable to Morrissey and The Cat Empire. Overall, the album waves the banner for ’60s dance-pop to return to mainstream, or maybe the band feels like it is already here. Formed in 2005, The Laureates are like-minded musicians who play really tight, and they never show a doubt that the music they are playing is anything but a true expression of who they are today.
Barenaked Ladies, The Cat Empire, Morrissey, Joy Division, Buddy Holly
www.myspace.com/laureatesmusic (http://www.myspace.com/laureatesmusic)