LIMBECK

LIMBECK LIMBECK Doghouse (www.doghouse.com) A pop-rock pick-me-up Contrary to the title of the best track on Limbeck’s self-titled album, Big Drag, frontman Robb Maclean is anything but a downer. “I don’t have a lot of tragedy in my life at the moment,” he says. No kidding. A random sample of lyrics might convince you the guy has never had a bad day in his whole SoCal life. And on their fourth CD, Limbeck, whose near constant state of touring makes them the alt-country equivalent of Kenyan marathon runners, continue to find nearly all their inspiration in the day-to-day monotony of life on the road...or life waiting to get back on it. It’s a knock Maclean has been keen to avoid, but the label still sticks. And even though close inspection of the lyrics is like a high dive into a kiddie pool, he shouldn’t be so eager to grow up. Not when Limbeck pulls together the most refreshing sing-song melodies you’re likely to hear this year. Channeling their emo influences for good not evil, the band fearlessly play themselves into a corner of Big Star guitars and Beach Boys backing vocals with the sort of unpretentious naiveite that make tracks like “Keeping Busy” (2-minutes of power-pop noodling and Cheap Trick-style vocal gymnastics) absolutely goddamn irresistible. “It’s good to be good to people you don’t understand,” Maclean sings without a hint of cynism on “Friends.” And you get the feeling he actually means it. After the good buzz around 2005’s Let Me Come Home, Limbeck could have phoned in another follow-up to complete their transformation from proto-punk nobodies to just another alt-country knock-off. But as the album rides off into the steel-guitar sunrise, you realize these guys have earned enough goodwill to do whatever the hell they want. Not upset about fans finding tracks on the internet or take people calling out their influences as a compliment...we love being compared to bands we really love Big Drag highlight of the CD Bloomed into a song in the practice space Wrote at home on a lazy day in-between tours Trying to stay away from writing songs about traveling...feel like I’m getting pidgeon-holed. Oh yeah, that’s the guy that likes to travel! That was the plan (to surprise people). I wasn’t about re-inventing ourselves...we have a lot of influences...ELO has changed my life...a lot more time in the studio to experiment...we had a key to the studio...wrote most of the songs in the studio We’ve decided to “get wild” on this one and do silly things in the studio... Most proud moment to date, so we thought it’d be a good time to have a self-titled record I don’t have a lot of tragedy in my life at the moment...When I get stumped writing songs ”Man why can’t something bad happen so I can be inspired.”