The band Burgess Meredith come from Austin, Texas, and they sound like they've listened to a lot of old British rock albums from the Sixties. The band's newest offering, A Dimension in Sound, is out now and it's a whole lot of fun, especially if you're a fan of the same bands these fellas have been listening to.
If opener "When We Were Born" chimes in the style of The Apples in Stereo, "Wendy" and "Olivia" bop along like numbers from Jellyfish, circa their first record. Burgess Meredith manage to pull this sort of thing off without seeming too precious about what they are doing. "Outside" positively soars on the strength of the strong harmonies of this band, while "Summers End" rides an Elton John-like melody forward, the song offering up the kind of pop that the indie scene just hasn't produced in ages. A Dimension in Sound closes with the T.Rex-inspried, near-glam hooks of the fine "After You", a number with a rockier edge than other selections on this record.
What surprised me about this Burgess Meredith long-player is how effortlessly the band hits a certain kind of peak. I really haven't heard American indie-pop this buoyant and unashamedly tuneful in decades. These players in Burgess Meredith are not shy about wearing their influences on their sleeves, and when the influences are Village Green-era Kinks and a bunch of early singles from The Move, for example, an attentive listener should seek this record out immediately.
A Dimension in Sound by Burgess Meredith is out now. More details on Burgess Meredith via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Uncredited promotional picture]