Martha Reeves once sang "Can't forget the Motor City", and in 2008 that admonition certainly applies to the power pop community. With great releases from bands such as The Offramps and The Romeo Flynns already on the books, up step The Respectables to keep the Detroit power pop flag flying high. Motown may not be getting much love from Washington DC these days, but it should be getting some from you as Sibley Gardens is another Detroit-based winner.
Like the bands mentioned above, The Respectables bring the characteristic Motor City grit to their power pop, and leadoff track and first single "Charged by the Minute" gets down to brass tacks right away - think Mitch Ryder meets Cheap Trick. The midtempo "Could It Be" allows Nick Piunti (who has the appropriately raspy voice for these tunes) & Company to show off their melodic gifts in service of a fine Westerbergian number. "To My Knees" is a retro-sounding gem that has some melodic elements in common with "Paint It, Black", and "When You Come Around" is a raucous rocker that still delivers the hooks. Other standouts include "Bottom of the Sea", an Oasis-style rocker, the staccato guitars (and ukelele!) of "From This Place", the bluesy hard rock of "Pick Your Poison" and "When You Gonna Be Mine", which closes the album not with a wimpy ballad but with another capital-D Detroit rocker.
So make sure you check out The Respectables. For only $11, you can help keep a Detroit industry afloat, and you get a rocking CD in return.
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