The A-Sides

It’s just as well Philly quartet the A-Sides have somehow managed to evade the A&R scouts at Rainbow Quartz. Otherwise, the band’s fresh and original rip on ’60s guitar pop would probably get lost among the din of like-fated peers. With this debut full-length effort, guitarist/vocalist/pianist Jon Barthmus and Co. reintroduce "Psychedelphia” back into the alt-rock lexicon in a big, bold way, alternating between exquisitely sparse and deliberately subtle arrangements driven by piano and vocal melodies, to full-on guitar-fuelled swing beat stompers. Like the Lilys’ masterful Better Can’t Make Your Life Better, Hello, Hello takes all sorts of cues from all kinds of material of yore, but challenges listeners to definitively pin down any one particular influence. If you dig Zumpano and Mull Historical Society with equal fervour, you may have just read about your new favourite band.