So odd to find that pretty much every second American band I hear nowadays sounds just like some scruffy British no hoper band that I watched in a dingy Indie club from 1985 to 1990.
This wouldn't be a scenario you would ever have imagined for Rock and Roll back in 1986. These bands, Jesus & Mary Chain, Shop Assistants, Primal Scream, The Pastels and so on were by no means seen as pioneers or visionaries. Far from it. They were just trying to find a way to pay their next rent check, all the time hoping that nn one would shop them in to the Dole Office.
San Diego duo's album Lost & Found, I think their first, is utterly in thrall to that scene and those bands. Jangling, melodic chords but slightly wonky sensibility. boy and girl harmonising but not worried if they are slightly out of key. At one point they even have the nerve to abscond with virtually the whole melody of the Velvets, I'll Be Your Mirror, surely one of that scene's key songs.
Anyone who liked the original set of bands will like this. Anyone who likes this will like the original scene from more than 35 years back. There's nothing essential about Lost & Found or Sugar World for that matter. But they're a nice trip down memory lane for the likes of me.
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