Mike Elgert and Brad Jendza have done it again. The duo known as Class Three Overbite has followed up their 2007 debut Rendezvous with perhaps an ever better disc this time with Horses for Courses. Lots of bands can capture the sound of the 70s, but few can capture its spirit, and CTO are one of those bands. Equal parts the sound of Queen, T-Rex, Jellyfish and other band who aren't afraid of putting some spunk in their power pop, Class Three Overbite still manages to not bite off more than it can chew.
That becomes apparent right off the bat with "Storm's Comin'", a cornucopia of falsetto vocalls, funky riffs, and guitars that rawk. If this one doesn't grab you, you may already be comatose. "Chasin' The Rabbit" sounds like a secular Rick Altizer fronting Queen, and "Sunshine" is Freddie Mercury gone flower child. "Reptiles" will make the day, if not week or month, of anyone who thinks the power pop world revolves around Jellyfish, and if there's any justice in the world, Paul Thomas Anderson will re-release the movie Boogie Nights with "Porn Addict" included in the soundtrack. "Wait For Me" is another standout with its Brian May guitar sound, "She Can't Make a Decision" is pure rock, and I always thought "Lex Luthor" deserved his own song. Finally, "You'd Better Love" is the perfect kind of overblown (and I mean that in a good way) power ballad to close out an album like this.
Coming back to their most profound influence, I'd say this is the best Queen album not named after a Marx Brothers movie that you'll find, and another year-end top-part-of-the-list contender to a year that started off slowly but is finishing strong.
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