Westside Daredevils¹ pop crackles on Spark

All Things Small Produce a Spark, The Westside Daredevils
By Raul Fernandez

Perhaps it is a bit late to talk about last year¹s records, but if you
missed this gem from Knoxville¹s Westside Daredevils (on Lynn Point Records)
then you¹ve got some catching up to do. Brett Cassidy, Jeff Caudill and Gray
Comer write Pop songs. There, I said it. I don¹t mean, "pop" in a Britney
Spears/ N¹SYNC kind of way either. That is a totally different connotation:
"pop" as in shorthand for "popular." I¹m talking about good ole guitar-based
Pop with a capital "P." You know: dreamy, three-part harmonies, a backbeat
that makes you want to tap your toes and a little crunch for good measure. I
guess when you get right down to it, this is the kind of music that is
inherently "Beatle-esque." A term that gets bandied about far too often in
our trade, but when a band has a knack for writing clever guitar hooks,
sing-along choruses and throws in the occasional round of hand-claps, how
else can one describe it?
The record starts off with two up-tempo Pop-rockers, "Andrea" and "Darling
Currency." The first of which intros with a nice piano melody (think Ben
Folds, not Billy Joel) and coalesces into the kind of song you can shake
your head to Fanclub comparison alert!) an outtake from Bandwagonesque.
While I like the idea of cutting loose, one of the few missteps on All
Things Small has to be the balls-to-the wall rocker "Camera Religion."
Live, I¹m sure this is the one they have fun playing.  On the disc, however,
it seems formulaic No need to worry, the record gets right back on track with "London Forces."
It¹s a song about a menage a trois which contains one of the cleverest
couplets committed to the subject: "Drugs that make libidos dance and words
that leave cheeks red/ Rolled up in a crystal ball as we three lie in bed."
Oh, and remember those sing-along choruses I mentioned?  I dare you to
listen to this one and not catch yourself singing the outro: "Penelope, Ann
and me."  Don¹t forget to accent the "and."
The album chugs along with varying degrees of success until you get to the
penultimate track.  "We Miss Him So," (I think) is a tribute to the latest
Beatle to kick the bucket.  It also happens to be one hell of a catchy song.
It¹s actually a two-part suite, which manages to capture both aspects of the
Liverpudlian in one fell (five and a half-minute) swoop.  The first half of
the "suite" concentrates on the Pre-Rubber Soul George, while the second
half delves into the trippier side of Harrison¹s songwriting sans the sitar.
Fookin¹ Brilliant, I say.