Rainbow Quartz's decision to compile this "best of" brew of the band's more psychedelic outings over their three LPs (with two new songs to start) is a jolly one, indeed. The Pillbugs may give sitars, pianos, farfisas, strings, and even some quaint backwards tape a workout, but they're unlike most Americans heading thataways--it isn't American/Nuggets psych-pop that inspires them. OK, there's a little Love ("Make Like Arthur Lee"), Byrds ("Hold Me So Near"), and Left Banke, but mostly, this is a beautifully British-inspired concoction. It's like the great "Tomorrow Never Knows"-era Beatles to S.F. Sorrow-Pretty Things, with fabulous, ambitious arrangements. Which means Monclovia stresses crystalline pop tunes, while tough-sounding guitars are nevertheless pristinely recorded. Like Dukes of Stratosphere, who they resemble, the Pillbugs sound like a different band from one song to the next within the genre -- even the Monkees on the fantastic "Charlie Blue Car" -- yet every song is consistently hummable and perfectly sung by Mark Mikel and friends. Jump on this.
Monclovia
Pillbugs
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Monclovia Review
by Jack Rabid
Track Listing
Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
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1 |
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Pillbugs | 03:15 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
2 |
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Pillbugs | 02:43 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
3 |
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Pillbugs | 04:14 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
4 |
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Pillbugs | 03:06 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
5 |
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Pillbugs | 02:58 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
6 |
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Pillbugs | 04:15 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
7 |
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Pillbugs | 04:40 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
8 |
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Pillbugs | 04:00 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
9 |
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Pillbugs | 02:50 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
10 |
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Pillbugs | 03:22 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
11 |
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Pillbugs | 04:02 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
12 |
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Pillbugs | 02:55 | SpotifyAmazon |