Click on titles to get copies of Gentrification Is Theft and Public Displays of Affection. Reviews of each are below.
All right, so I'm really late catching up with the debut by this indie-pop quartet– Post Office recently finished recording their second album– but jangly, effervescent tunes such as "The Whole Thing's a Bust" and "Damen Avenue" are too good to overlook. In fact, the latter joins the Handsome Family's "The Woman Downstairs" as my second favorite song this year about a Chicago thoroughfare (The Handsomes' tune pays homage to Ashland). To find a local band in this genre as good as Post Office, you'd have to stretch all the way back to the Reverbs, and that's saying something. Jim De Rogatis
Sweet sounding... loose pop. This Chicago-based band is led by Stephen Becker and Larry O. Dean, two talented fellows who know how to write a catchy pop tune. There's a certain bubblegum-like quality to many of these tunes, but they're actually much deeper than that. Thick waves of guitars caress these thumpy little tunes, and the vocals fit the music just fine. Fifteen memorable tunes. Four star rating. Babysue
A quiet release that every pop fan missed and now dug out for enjoyment for Not Lamers everywhere from two guys, Larry O. Dean who was in a SF band called the Fussbudgets and Chicago/New York based songwriter, Stephen Becker. Merging Game Theory/Let's Active, Rickenbacker pop of cool Matthew Sweet come db's, and pinches of country acoustic rock played with the Jazz Butcher Conspiracy with supple guitar and some doses of Let's Active and Go-Betweens as well. Delightful, unpretentious and full of snappy pop surprises throughout and with each successive listen. Very Highly Recommended! Not Lame
This Chicago band could almost be a Go-Betweens tribute band, they have the same exact feel as that clever, loose limbed Aussie act. With guitarist/songwriter Larry O. Dean's plaintive vocals, Derek Walvoord's viola soaring in the background and the backup harmonies of Pamela Richardson, Jeff Greaves (also on drums) and Tim Ferguson (also on bass), their folky chamber rock songs have a similar depth of feeling. They easily mix strings sections with edgy abrasive guitar parts and both factions are better off for it. Leader Dean is a prolific type and has also spent time as a member of the Fussbudgets, Malcontents and Post Office as well as being a published author, poet and comic book artist. The Me Decade is one ego trip that you should definitely take. The Big Takeover
Pretty melodies and Americana sounding pop with the kind of earnest nasal voice that wins nerdy fan loyalty. The Me Decade should be able to draw fans of Bloodshot Records and Weezer and Violent Femmes and I hope they do. Roctober
The Me Decade is an enigmatic Chicago five-piece combo fronted by scene veteran, singer-songwriter Larry O. Dean. Fresh off of Dean's latest solo album, Sir Slob, the backing band is ready to mark its "official" debut entitled Gentrification Is Theft which will be released in October on the indie label, Spade Kitty Records. The fifty-minute disc is full of heady string arrangements and rock guitars, reminiscent of early XTC and Siamese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins. "Dawning on Your Face" is a splendid, sing along pop song with a refrain that threatens to stick with you throughout the day. "The Boy Who Fell Too Far From the Tree" is a vibrant opening tune, and "Echo Beach" driven, whereas "Looking For a Spark" is the moody and sad tale of growing old. All at once, Gentrification Is Theft feels like an anthem and something distinctly personal. Co-produced and engineered by Mark Schwarz (Chamber Strings, Neko Case, Freakwater) the album may just emerge a sleeper to ascend the college charts. Dean has been working the windy city music scene since 1996 where he is called "one of the hardest working men in Chicago rock" (Home Pride Chicago). Prior to that, he cut his teeth both as a solo acoustic performer and front man for pop bands like the Fussbudgets and Malcontent in San Francisco. Not just a prolific musician, Dean is also an anthologized poet whose bibliography is as impressive as his discography. Cosmik Debris
Chicagoan Larry O. Dean has gathered together another talented Windy City bunch – The Me Decade. This band's disc, Gentrification Is Theft, should be released soon. From a contemporary perspective, the band's songs sound like Russ Tolman and Girls Say Yes. On a more dated basis, one can also hear wisps of the mid-60s San Francisco mixed gender bands, Jefferson Airplane and It's A Beautiful Day. Whether the tunes feature strummy pop, straight-ahead rock, fuzzy amplification, psych/pop or guitar pop with strings, the twelve songs are all catchy enough to make this disc a worthy addition to your pop music library. Fufkin.com
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