Powerpop CD Review: The New Mendicants’ Into The Lime

The New Mendicants are Joe Pernice (Pernice Brothers), Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub), and Mike Belitsky of The Sadies and their debut LP Into the Lime has all the jangle, pop hooks and harmonies one would expect from the offspring of the marriage of Teenage Fanclub and a Pernice Brother.

What originally began as a soundtrack to a film version of Nick Hornby’s novel, A Long Way Down, one can often tell which songs were composed with the mood and tenor appropriate for the film project. “A Very Sorry Christmas” was likely written with the novel in mind and may be the inspiration for the band’s name – “I Come here as a beggar on my knees…On a very sorry Christmas eve I only want a chance to say I’m sorry”.

The harmonies on “Cruel Annette” will pull you right in and the jangly guitars and killer hook makes this a first class pop song. “Shouting Match” is another winner and while lyrically its a downer, the song bounces along with great harmonies and guitar embellishments that are just right. “If You Only Knew Her” is an acoustic number with more great harmonies and may remind you of Nick Lowe’s more recent output. But my favorite track is “By The Time It Gets Dark”, having the same sparse sound as some of the tracks off of Big Star’s #1 Records, songs like Thirteen or Give Me Another Chance.

Bottom line – If you’re a fan of The Pernice Brothers or Teenage Fanclub, The Hollies or The Byrds, you’ll dig this one.