CRUSHSTORY 'A+ Electric' LP

"Although this comes advertised-via reviews of their two previous singles on 702 records - as a treat for fans of Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson, it doesn't come across that much like either. If CRUSHSTORY shares anything with the old, clever new wave curmudgeons, it's in the vocals, not the music. Granted, the singer does sound a lot like the former Declan McManus, thanks to a similar nasal tone and pronounced slurring vowels style. But the band sounds more like THE JAM or THE GAS and BIG STAR having some kind of melding party with a classic '60s pop group. The guitars come meaty and thick and fast sometimes, with whooshing, old new wave (CARS?) organ and Rhodes piano. Or they come a-banging post-glam power-pop like THE REPLACEMENTS might trot out. Or they hit at the high-stepping XTC-does-THE KINKS' 'Sunny Afternoon' with a Herb Alpert trumpet on the best song 'All Natural'. Or they switch to a mod-band urgency, like the ace 'White'. These guys do it all, and do it well" -Jack Rabid: The Big Takeover #48 [CD on Pop Kid Records; LP split release with Squid Vs. Whale Records]