Not quite ready to say goodbye to the hot season? Philadelphia band 2nd Grade have created a noise pop soundtrack for an eternal American summer with their LP “Easy Listening.” Sixteen tunes wash over you like a series of warm ocean waves. There are swirls of Americana throughout. The tempo is often upbeat and the focus is celebrating the carefree.
“…Can I fly in your airshow / Write your name in the clouds / Find you on an open channel / And not be shot down / Can I hide in the peripheral / Vision of the world / Me & my blue angels / Maintaining a perfect flight pattern / Almost at the speed of sound / 8,000 feet above the ground…”
“Me & My Blue Angels” lyrics. https://2ndgrade.bandcamp.com/
“With the vintage flair of yesteryear’s rock and roll and today’s wry humor, the supergroup of some of Philly’s finest indie-rock stylists have crafted an adventure of an album, traversing the highs of rockstardom, the lows of celebrity loneliness and a pervasive sense of ennui that can only be cut by righteous riffs.”
https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/2nd-grade/easy-listening-album-review/
“Stuck On You” was the first single, but “Teenage Overpopulation” takes the prize for catchiness and John Cougar Mellencamp-ing it up. Speaking of which – the intro / repeating riff to “Poet In Residence” is a nod to “Hurts So Good,” is it not? I mean yeah, sometimes love don’t feel like it should.
“Easy Listening is an American record, after all, and 2nd Grade are an American band. Not in the Grand Funk Railroad or Zac Brown Band sense. But with the Blue Angels air shows and American-made telecasters, the jukeboxes and nods to blue-collar icons…2nd Grade’s nation is foregrounded in their music.”
https://floodmagazine.com/118448/2nd-grade-easy-listening/
It’s fun listening to 2nd Grade follow their own muses, like when the tune “Kramer in LA” does just what you hope it will do — capture the view of the Seinfeld character Kramer who is apparently stuck in Los Angeles. Not everyone loves where they are. Even when the sun is out.
Coming off as breezy AND truly American is not so easy these days. Maybe it works here because 2nd Grade conjur the right cultural idols and imagery. They look back in time for a zeitgeist and then dance with and all around it. Just on the other side of the joy is melancholy — but you can keep it at bay by playing just one more toetapper. Cue guitars, noise and lyrical cheek.
“Easy Listening” is that, indeed. A collection of quirky tunes that sound good when you pay attention and make a perfect summer backdrop when you don’t. I appreciate the melodic bones that let these songs hangout and be themselves.
Corn dogs and suntan lotion forever.
LINK: https://lnk.to/easylistening
UNCLE EARS is a music blog written by David Falk. davidrfalk@gmail.com David was born in 1962 and gravitates towards melodies, adventure, unsigned artists, fresh discoveries. He trusts his ear to know what it likes and loves sharing what he finds. He lives near Seattle, WA, USA.
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