Review: The Forty Nineteens’ Rebooted

When I first heard the song “383 Dodge Charger” from the new Forty Nineteens LP entitled Rebooted, I nearly cried. That’s right. I practically wept with happiness, dammit.

OK. That may be a little bit of an exaggeration. But just a little. With this track, The Forty Nineteens channeled one of the greatest bands ever, The Modern Lovers. If you’re a student of the history of rock, The Forty Nineteens’ new LP is a most pleasant surprise. And if you’re not, it’s got the melodies and pop hooks to keep you more than entertained.

The band’s promotional material describes Rebooted as “a psychedelic garage rock trip down 1960’s Sunset Strip, with Radio Caroline blasting ‘The Who Sell Out.’ The door is open, climb on in”. Fair enough. But you’ll also hear some Doors, Fleshtones and maybe even a little P.F. Sloan.

I was immediately sucked in by the opening track, “I’m Fine”, a psyche-garage piece that imbues that classic free-wheeling party vibe that only The Fleshtones have mastered before them. Little Stevens Underground Garage is sure to take notice of this one so expect to hear it there very soon.

“Best Days” and “Wasn’t It You” are simply catchy, wonderfully written power pop songs. The harmonies and sing-along chorus of the latter will have you hitting “repeat” more than a few times. The opening bass lines and clanging guitars of “Disguise” are only a conduit to the killer hook to come. “Get Myself a Selfie” has a Doors-Monkees feel to it and “Head Up Head High” presents a nice change of pace with its other world feel and Question Mark & The Mysterians opening. Fans of The Who (and who isn’t) will dig “True, True, True” and “Moonlight Drive” has more than enough Doors inflections to please any Jim Morrison fan.

Rebooted is a tremendous amount of fun to listen to but, more importantly, it sticks because it’s so much more than just a rehash of rock’s glory days. Ringing guitars, memorable melodies, pleasing harmonies and hooks-a-plenty make for a great power pop record in any time or place.

I am told that Rebooted will be available shortly in physical form through Kool Kat Musik and CD Baby. If you simply can’t wait, you can pick this one up in digital form by visiting The Forty Nineteens’ website. Either way, this one is highly recommended.