The Sick Rose – Someplace Better

When I got a hold of the new album from The Sick Rose, I tried to remember where I’d heard them before. I have to confess as to not being that familiar with the band despite the fact that they have quite a good body of work out there. The bands they count as major influences include some of my favorites. The Records, 20/20 and Shoes.

Someplace Better is nothing short of a jangle-fest. The melodies are memorable, the hooks plentiful and the harmonies spot on. For guitar pop aficionados, this is a good as it gets.

The opening guitar lick and gorgeous harmonies of “Anyway” will fool you into thinking that this was a hit from another time. “Frustrated” moves like a bullet train propelled by more killer guitar. “Sweet as a Punch” reminds me of DM3 and is probably my favorite track on Someplace Better. The keyboard flourishes take what’s already a super-catchy song and take it to another level all together. Garage rock fans will go crazy for “Nobody”. If you told me The Fleshtones’ Keith Streng or Peter Zaremba wrote this one, I’d probably believe you. But “Nobody” is just another original, outstanding track on an album that’s an absolute blast.

Although comparisons to 20/20 are obvious after a listen or two, I kept thinking of DM3 when I listened to them. This is particularly true with the opening track, “How to Be Your Friend” and the aforementioned “Sweet as a Punch”. The more I listened, the more I thought of Dom Mariani. Then, I was reminded by Georgio Cappellaro, the band’s guitarist, that The Sick Rose toured with Mariani several times. He told me that Dom had produced two previous Sick Rose albums as well. It all made sense.

Ken Stringfellow of The Posies was the producer this time ’round. Pick up The Sick Rose’s Someplace Better, HERE.