[rating=2.50]
Kelley Stoltz has put together a snappy collection of 50’s-60’s dreamy garage-pop with his most recent effort To Dreamers. Echo vocals, glimmering tambourines, a dash of feedback and random horns all come and go like the breeze as Kelley sings about “getting the girl” and “all of our stars aligning”. The retro vibe is obvious, but this album was certainly produced in the digital age with clear sound and at times too many instruments/sounds trying to make a mark like on “Keeping the Flame”.
There is sweetness contained in all of the songs, even the Ramones-lite “Fire Escape” manages to end up cute over punk; a bubblegum feel helps things pop along. Reminiscent at times to a more directed Brian Jonestown Massacre, Stoltz and his helpers show a true love of early English (white) rock and roll records, even covering Peter Miller’s cult hit “Baby I Got News for You”. The handclaps in the Beatles-esque “I Don’t Get That” add to the vibe and the whole album doesn’t so much jangle as it swoons with much softer edges then other retro fixed releases.
