Greatest White Liar [Enhanced]

The current vintage craze is already tediously infiltrating even the most remote recesses of society- seen any fourth graders with homemade holes in their jeans recently? The term vintage even is suspect. What qualifies? The look alike old t-shirt you got from Old Navy? The argyle sweater from that fancy second hand store? The windbreaker you got last year? In a society where even the most immediate moments seem so last second, the week that was becomes historically relevant, at least until next weeks show. If everything old is new again, what about everything new but made to seem old? Is that twice as good or twice as bad? Or simply twice as irrelevant? In the musical world, fads come and go like aromas in a fast food restaurant, but one fad that's always in style is musical mining. No decade is safe, no style too obscure to cop or to make a vague reference. What if, hypothetically, there was a new record that didn't simply give a polite nod, but rather embodied a whole decade and genre's worth of music in every way, shape, and form?

The Greatest White Liar is one such record, one of the more peculiar and intriguing releases of the year. It is at best a facsimile of all the hits of pre-hippie-hair-era Beatles, and at worst the same. These are all the songs you've heard on that oldies station that goes way back to the black and white decades, only you'll be stuck trying to sing the lyrics. Or hum the melody perfectly the first time through. Or remember exactly where it was you first heard that song. This is also the perfect album to play a trick on your parents. Simply turn it on, ever so innocently, with some vague remarks about a "greatest hits record" and see if they "remember" the songs. Odds are they will.

The problem is that these songs are all so gosh darn catchy and down right rockin. Armstrong holds no punches and feigns no mixed feelings about where his love lies. Melodies, chords, lyrics, even harmonica solos all help to transfer you back to a time nobody younger than 40 remembers.

The most interesting part of the equation is what the music media will do with such a piece. Being British, the UK press is probably drooling over themselves for a new idol to build up and tear down, tiring of all those dance dance retreads (see Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, etc) and name dropping Gang of Four and The Wire. Whatever way the future is headed, it most surely is going through the past to get there.

This is no phoney retro throwback. Nic Armstrong is the real deal. Sure, it hearkens back to the fab 60s when British rockers would fill their songs with hooks galore. But it sounds fresh and new. Each song is a little treasure - fantastic melodies, little twists in the arrangements and an absolute sense of POP joy. And I mean pop like the Beatles. Or the Kinks. But the album also rocks. The edges remain a little rough and raw. There is a fine line between knowing what 60s rock from Britain should sound like (paging Noel Gallagher) and making a really grand, rocking record for those who love great pop songs. Some folks carry the torch and others are content to merely try to warm their hands on the flame. Nic Armstrong is absolutely running, torch in hand.

Even with limited lights & sound, these guys opened for Jet who then opened for Oasis. I think the order should have been reversed. They ruled. I downloaded this disc when I got home last night. As a previous reviewer so aptly put: these guys are the real deal. Totally. Support musicians who actually play their instruments, not techno button pushers or pop celebs! BUY IT! IT ROCKS FOR SUMMER!

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 8 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars