The Portastylistic: pop*eye...The Like

POP*EYE
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THE LIKE
Release Me (2010)

*I Proud To Recommended!!!*

http://nickydigital.com/blog_images/the_like_release_me.jpg

The Like have a somewhat suspicious history, I’m talking famous family members, friends in high places and a debut album that stank. Still I’m willing to put that to the back of my mind, this is a band that are good buddies with Arctic Monkeys and Mark Ronson (who produces this record) so they must have something going for them. And it turns out they do afterall…

Firstly they more than look the part – dressed in their finest 60′s dresses, Scarlett lipstick, dark mascara and with flowing hair – they are pretty much a dream proposition, especially when you see them lined up on stage with their instruments slung low at the waist. Whilst recording this album the group were listening to The Beatles, The Supremes, The Zombies, The Beach Boys and The Kinks – I’m sold.

Okay, they wear those influences very much on their sleeves, at times to the extent that you begin to wonder if you they aren’t blatant plagiarists. The opening bass line of ‘Narcissus In A Red Dress’ for example is a complete rip off of the bass line from ‘My Girl’. Elsewhere they are more subtle but the tone and melodies are still very familiar. If this sounds harsh I don’t mean it too, I don’t really have a problem with the girls sounding similar to my favourite bands, especially when they are making songs as insanely catchy as ‘He’s Not A Boy’ or ‘Release Me’. At first I thought they must be manufactured, they look and sound simply too slick and perfect, but after seeing them live and reading their interviews it became pretty obvious that The Like are more than for real.

The good tunes come front loaded, aside from the two I’ve already mentioned you should check out ‘Wishing He Was Dead’ and ‘I Can See It In Your Eyes’. About half way through you realize that The Like have one style and one speed and they’re sticking to it. Because of this things get a bit samey in the second half and you could argue that the album would have benefited from more diversity. It’s fine knowing what you like and sticking rigidly to it as long as the audience like the same things you do. If you aren’t a fan of 60′s pop then this album is going to have very little appeal to you. You could also make the point that The Like aren’t doing anything that hasn’t been done better by older bands, but that argument is a bit like bringing up the nazis in a debate – too predictable and easy. At the end of the day The Like are only being honest, they aren’t and never will be innovators.

The Like already find it hard to be taken seriously for reasons that in this day and age are ridiculous. It’s still unusual to have a band made up entirely of girls, let alone one as good as The Like, but there is the danger that some will view them as a novelty or gimmick. The fact that they make such retro sounding music will also unreasonably count against them, but it shouldn’t because the Like are only being themselves. Overall this is a very enjoyable record, and whilst ‘Release Me’ isn’t going to change your world, if you’re anything like me then you will become pretty transfixed with The Like.

About
THE LIKE

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/9145/The+Like.jpg

The Like are an indie rock band which formed in 2001 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The band consists of Elizabeth “Z” Berg (vocals, guitar), Laena Geronimo (bass), Annie Monroe (organ) and Tennessee Thomas (drums). Bassist Charlotte Froom left the band in 2009 and was replaced by Geronimo. Reni Lane, who joined shortly after Froom left, departed the band sometime in late 2009 or early 2010 and was replaced by Monroe. Berg is the daughter of Geffen A&R rep Tony Berg and Thomas is the daughter of Pete Thomas, the drummer for Elvis Costello & The Attractions.

The name of the band comes from the girls tendency to frequently use the word “like” in the style of the valley girls of LA. The band has released two albums, “Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking?” (2005) and “Release Me” (2010).

Over a period of three years, the band independently released three EPs (I Like The Like, …and The Like, and Like It or Not), which they sold at shows and on their website. Their song “(So I’ll Sit Here) Waiting” was featured on the soundtrack of the film Thirteen. Soon a diverse fan base developed and magazines around the world began to take notice. Following their high school graduations in 2004, The Like signed to Geffen Records and toured with Phantom Planet and Maroon 5, bands which, like The Like, are part of a Los Angeles music scene that also includes bands such as Rooney and Giant Drag. Since forming, The Like have drawn major media attention and have been featured in magazines such as Teen People, ELLEgirl, Nylon Magazine, and Rolling Stone.

http://www.myspace.com/thelike