Tinted Windows, thats what! The new hybrid supergroup comprising James Iha (ex-Smashing Pumpkins), Taylor Hanson of
Mmmbop fame, the bassist from Fountains of Wayne, and Cheap Trick's drummer.

I was going to review them for the album section but their self-titled LP has been out since the end of April so its well past its zeitgeist-date..

Despite Taylor Hanson's naff musical beginnings - luckily they don't transfer on this effort - it's not bad. It is unashamed power-chord-driven pop rock, to the extent they could be pigeonholed as a Thinking Man's Busted! This is probably unfair though, in patches it does lend itself more to Dinosaur Jr's 2007 album Beyond..

Check out the single Messing With My Head on YouTube... Dead Serious is another good album track too.

Health warning: this is college rock by a band with an average age of 42 - not everyone's rock music ideal. There is however some trademark James Iha guitar-squealing, albeit used more sparingly in the mix..

Am I the only one who thinks this album is half-decent?

s'alright in a sub-Cars power pop sort of way I suppose, but mostly.......meh.....

think it must be the nice weather making me give no-strings rock a chance - im only one rainshower away from reverting to some Class A cynicism!

Anyone looking for more James Iha guitar pop should check out an album from 2006 he made with a French singer called Vanessa Contenay-Quinones: "The Story Of O" by Vanessa and the O's. At the risk of repeating numerous blog posts where I've raved about this record, Vanessa seems to be obsessed by Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, and this album sounds like a VU tribute record. Some tracks are glorious, especially this one, 'Bagatelle' - you'll be singing "Chante, chante, la chanson, la bagatelle" to yourself all day:

I was really hoping the answer would be 'they've all been withdrawn from print and anyone with copies of any of those singles should burn them or rish jail.

Aidan, that song is too bloody catchy...remove it now or it will replace Ladyhawke as my 'I'm not sure why I'm singing it but I am' song of the week.

Posted By Idiot Kid on 25 Jun 2009 02:40 AM

I was really hoping the answer would be 'they've all been withdrawn from print and anyone with copies of any of those singles should burn them or rish jail.

Aidan, that song is too bloody catchy...remove it now or it will replace Ladyhawke as my 'I'm not sure why I'm singing it but I am' song of the week.

Would that be "you set me on, you set me on, you set me on fi-yer"? Marvellous. And Ladyhawke lives in Paris, the home of catchy tunes!