Founding member of Heatmiser Neil Gust is back with a new one from No. 2. First Love, out on Friday via Jealous Butcher, serves up blast after blast of Nineties-tinged indie-rock. The charms here are numerous, and for those of a certain generation, very much appreciated.
While "Ravers in the Sky" threatens to run off the rails, opener "I'm on a Mission" is as clear and focused as a knife cutting through hot butter. Neil Gust, along with singer/bassist Gilly Ann Hanner (Calamity Jane) and drummer Paul Pulvirenti (Eyelids), makes this one roar and race. Elsewhere, "Time's Up" works up to a nice T.Rex-ish stomp, even as "Night After Night" has a nice, lilting and lopsided melody that's similar to material of Gust's Heatmiser bandmate, the late Elliott Smith.
On the whole, First Love succeeds immensely. There's nothing here particularly new, obviously, but the gusto with which Gust and crew attack this material takes a listener back a few decades to when college rock like this was more abundantly found. Not stuck in the past, mind you, but No. 2 thankfully find enough juice left in the form to rev things up and ride these kinds of hooks into the stratosphere.
First Love is out on Friday via Jealous Butcher.