To paraphrase the old Blondie marketing catchphrase, "Frank Jordan Is A Group." Why they've chosen to hide behind this pseudonym is not exactly clear, but judging from the infectious, '80's-styled pop jumping off the Sacramento, CA trio's sophomore effort, perhaps "Difford & Tilbrook" would've been a better choice for their nom de group. Call 'em what you will, just don't throw "prolific" into the mix: this is only the second full length in their decade-long career. But it's a good 'un. Think Squeeze meets XTC with just the right tinge of 60's British psychedelia. For starters, if you can imagine Difford & Tilbrook penning "Sowing the Seeds of Love" and then sprinkling on melodies from Timebox's "Gone Is The Sad Man," you'd be in the neighborhood of the groove running through "Green Light, Red Light."
I also like the strident Cure-ish down-stroke of the guitar line on "Looked Around," and the twangy, Spaghetti-western guitar riff coda of "Circles" had me highstepping around the room. Another major influence is the angular rhythms and strangulated whines of Andy Partridge and XTC, particularly on the short burst of fresh air that is "Funnyhead" and its follow-up, "Fumble." Disintegration-era Cure is also at the center of the swirling psychedelia of "To Never Have Without," which also benefits from just the right amount of atmospherics a la The Church. It's a great mood piece (which goes on a tad too long) and one of the album's highlights, but it's curiously out of place amongst its pop surroundings. However, tagging drummer Devin Hurley's melodica and guitarist Mike Visser's mandolin straight out of some old French Foreign Legion film on to the end illustrates the lads' sense of humor is still intact. "Headaches" goes even one better, grafting Visser's spot-on Partridge impersonation to his stellar Chameleons-like guitar interplay. It's always refreshing to hear a bunch of pop/psych rockers who are not caught up in their own cleverness.
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