Now that's a real shame...when folks be throwing away a perfectly good pop rock band like Big City Rock. Their self-titled debut dropped in 2006 on Atlantic, featuring production from Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), mixing by the famed Chris Lord-Alge, and high recommendations from Adam Levine (Maroon 5), who enthusiastically proclaimed Big City Rock (BCR) to be his favorite new band.
So what happened? Why hasn't anyone heard of them outside of L.A.? Maybe it is because their logo looked too much like the defunct Circuit City electronics store - who knows. All I know is that this CD has more hooks than a tackle box and rocks you with crunchy ear candy from start to finish. It is over a little too soon, clocking in at just 35 minutes, but what a ride. In addition to no filler melodic rock, their sound has a distinct 80s vibe that reminds me of Rock Kills Kid (review here). Highlights include "Sink", "As Soon As I Find Out", and "Kind". My favorite is "All Of The Above", which should have put Nate Bott (guitar and vocals) and company on the map. If you like power ballads, check out "I Believe In You".
If you dig Rock Kills Kid, Rooney, or Click Five, you must hear BCR. You can get their CD used on Amazon for one penny. Go get it for cryin' out loud. You can also keep track of the band's next move here. They've changed their name to The Remainers - maybe they will have better luck under that moniker.
iPOD-worthy: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10
Big City Rock on MySpace. Official site.
Check out a video for "All Of The Above" here.
4 comments:
no sir, they have not "changed their name" to the remainers. one guy ruined bcr for the rest of them, quit the band, and then started the remainers with the only two members of bcr who weren't pissed at him, plus some other guy.
A sorely underappreciated album, I agree ... nice review! And am I to assume your first sentence is lifted from the awesome John Cusack movie "Better Off Dead"...?
-T
Tom Q - you got it! One of my favorite movies.
I definitely agree with your review! The Remainers are good but I miss BCR. I saw them at the glass house in Pomona a couple years back and thought that they'd make it big one day. It's too bad...
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