Neatbeats

Unabashedly retro and celebrating the world before Vietnam got ugly, the Neatbeats are pure Liverpool, Japan. Stylistically and musically, the Neatbeats present an ultra-sharp approach to pop and rock. Seven of 12 songs are covers of early 60s classics: "Reelin' and Rockin'," "It's In Her Kiss," "Farmer John," and "Long Tall Sally" among others. Sounding less dangerous and sarcastic than the Gruesomes or Les Sequelles, they do have a more purist approach to beat - there is a perhaps two or three year timeframe where they point their musical barometer and they never stray from it. The biggest stretch is between Chuck Berry rock and roll and garage blues. While that doesn't leave much room to manoeuvre, they pull it off and would sound authentic enough to appear on a Pebbles compilation except for their neatness. Tightly and cleanly produced, they have an unmistakably modern-sounding disc.