Saturday, January 3, 2009

Review: Thee Makeout Party! "Play Pretend"


Is there a better way to start the first review for 2009 than with a band that parties like its 1969? Thee Makeout Party is comprised of four rather unfortunate looking lads from Anaheim, CA who specialize in delivering feel good, retro bubblegum pop. Production is sparse to highlight the strong melodies and ingenious harmonies, similar to the concepts practiced by modern bands like Spoon or The Shins. Fans of 70s garage acts like the Flamin' Groovies or the Sidewinders will love attending Thee Makeout Party.

Thee Makeout Party sets its sights on making you laugh and feel good - and it is mission accomplished. These short and quirky tunes grab hold of you quick and don't let go easily. I've been trying to get the silly "My Birthday Suit" track out of my head for one week (but to be fair, this is actually an obscure cover of the Catanooga Cats). And their sampling of Barry Manilow's "Mandy" in the bouncy "Change" drove me nuts for a couple days too. For revenge, I was thinking about sending the band a copy of this CD.

I'm not sure that I would call myself a fan yet, but I will certainly be curious to hear what this band does next.

iPOD-worthy: 1, 2, 4, 6

Thee Makeout Party on MySpace.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

unfortunate looking! hahahahahaha!
thanks for reviewing our album!
xoxo,
thee

Now this ROCKS! said...

I suspected you guys had a healthy sense of humor! I am rather unfortunate looking myself. Thanks for sending in the CD and do keep in touch.
All thee best! Bill

Anonymous said...

That's so funny! Obviously you are not a woman nor a gay man.
Makeout Party admirer.