Search - 88 :: Kind of Light

California sunshine distilled into intelligent pop songs

A. Whitney | Silicon Valley, CA USA | 07/24/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excerpt from my review for Scoot! Quarterly Magazine:



The 88 was voted Best Pop/Rock Band by LA Weekly and I can see why. The album reminds me of a long summer weekend I spent in Venice Beach and the resulting rooftop party. The 88 sounds as if it has distilled whatever SoCal sunshine has been reverberating since 1960 into a solid collection of catchy rock and roll. Yet, the sunshine doesn't render it pop fluff. I imagine a youthful Ray Davies transplanted to a funky beach bungalow. Songwriter and lead singer Keith Slettedahl even sounds a bit like the Kinks' front man and utilizes bits of slide guitar and melodious vocals reminiscent of what made the Kinks stand apart from their peers. This is especially evident in the song No Use Left For Me, which deftly incorporates an accordion. My favorite song is Sunday Afternoon (not to be confused with the Kink's Sunny Afternoon) which can turn any car into a virtual Chevy Malibu convertible. I defy you not to sing along...even if its lyrics mention both God and prostitutes."

Surprisingly great debut

propertius | Brooklyn | 12/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This really is a fantastic CD. There's a pretty major Kinks (circa Something Else)influence hanging over Kind of Light and the lead singer can sound eerily like Ray Davies at times. It'll be a shame if it gets lost in the shuffle due to lack of publicity. Possibly one of the best of 2003."