Halfsour at Clicky Clicky Music Blog

We suppose there might be some quibbling, especially as how one defines “big” or “Boston” has some bearing on the matter, but it seems indisputable anyway that the first big Boston album of 2016 comes courtesy of Halfsour. The trio’s terrific debut long-player Tuesday Night Live, which streets next week, boasts scads of brisk tunes fizzing with hooks. The first preview track “Porch Sittin” presented a hardscrabble garage sound a laParquet Courts, but the great strength of the set is its variety of approaches to power-pop (emphasized by the traded-off lead or doubled-up vocals from Zoe and Matt). An outsized melody, caffeinated strumming and explosively boxy snare conspire to make set highlight “Pop Art Pop Tart” a breathless banger. The song careens from verse to pre-chorus to chorus, marrying scritchy guitar chords to just enough jangle to conjure thoughts of Peter Buck. The swinging hip-shaker “Pleasantly Whelmed” also shines brightly, and hints perhaps at Halfsour’s purported small-g genesis as a Guided By Voices cover band. The verse of the slow-burning, syncopated “I.K.” recycles the classic Beatles “Ticket To Ride” riff, and bursts its seams coming out of a manic chorus with an angular guitar solo that buzzes like a fridge. There’s just a lot to like. Tuesday Night Live will be released in a limited edition of 300 LPs and (virtually) unlimited CDs by Jigsaw Records Jan. 29; pre-order the set right here. In addition, Baltimore-based Nebraskan Coast is doing a run of cassettes for Tuesday Night Live, so watch this link for availability, quantity, color, etc.; the label has also done tapes for Princess Reason and Wildhoney, in case you were wondering. Halfsour previously released via Ride The Snake a dandy of a split EP with Boston luminaries Reports in late 2014, which you can purchase from Jigsaw right here.

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