Lopez Blogs

In terms of my obsession with boy bands/man bands, I've never really grown up. I'm still that enthusiastic tween who eagerly embraces each new act in the marketplace and then decides whether they are worthy of my loyalty or not. This means I have listened to a lot of crap over the years, but also been completely rewarded with some excellent tunes. Here are just some of the latest crop to tickle my fancy...


The Overtones ~ Good Ol' Fashioned Love: In the music world, everything new needs to be packaged & linked to something old in order to get people to connect to it. Slotting in nicely between The Puppini Sisters (40s Andrew Sisters style harmonies) and The Pipettes (60s/70s quirky pop-dance), The Overtones are a clean cut group of 5 lads offering Duffy-esque tunes (without the annoying Pepsi advert) in a post Glee, harmony ridden world. It seems unfair to compare The Overtones to anyone, however, as they have enough charm and unique musical interpretation to stand out on their own. They've already built up quite the following through supporting Matt Goss, being the darlings of the ITV morning scene and littering youtube with a variety of surprisingly daring cover versions.

The worry with any boy band/vocal harmony group is that they feel too packaged, too serious, too generic. One listen to The Overtones debut album dispells all these fears. Together they have a detailed knowledge of how to work their voices together to create musical chemistry, they don't seem to take themselves too seriously and their modern takes on old classics sit seamlessly alongside their self penned material. The first single, Gambling Man, firmly sets out their stall - they are definitely of the doo-wap era, yet manage to make the production sound incredibly relevant. The chorus is as catchy as anything and their vocal abilities put most of this year's x-factor contestants to shame. Similarly, Carolyn mixes retro sensibilities with a knowing wink to Glee audiences to produce a pulsating tune that would be a tremendous addition to the rap and hip hop dominated charts of late - a throwback to when melody and music mattered. It definitely makes you want to grab the one you love and shimmy. Further demonstrating their commitment to musical craft is the delightful title track - a stripped back demonstration of how wonderful their voices sound weaved together. Yes, Tim makes a fine lead vocalist but the band are fully complementary when working together and it's a joy to listen to.

Of the fine, fine cover versions the standouts include a spinetingling reading of Don't Make Me Over, a spellbinding version of In The Still Of The Night (a really key example of where the harmonised vocals really enhance and contribute to the essence of the track) and a perky Why Do Fools Fall In Love. Each cover seems like they've taken it back to basics and built it back up around their individual sound and style. It's an absolute labour of love and shows their ability to recreate well known tunes rather than just throw out a quick harmony or two. It all adds up to a real treat of an album. I'm hoping to get to see them live sometime this year and have all my fingers and toes crossed for some Christmas music from them because I can only imagine how they will enhance the most wonderful time of the year :)

Also worthy:

• The Wanted ~ The Wanted: On paper, The Wanted should be just another casualty of the put-together-by-a-label boy band genre. There is something about the 5 boys who make up Britain's latest boy band sensation that has helped them surpass this. Whether it's their down to earth, everyman appeal or their ability to make every teen and tween on the planet a little weak at the knees is irrelevant - if they didn't have some sparkling tunes to back this up, they would be faster than you can say Billiam. They stormed onto the scene with the excellent All Time Low which demonstrated groups such as this can deliver current sounding pop tunes without misjudging their audience (The Club is Alive by JLS, I'm looking at you!). The album continues to provide the listener with a polished, sleek sounding set of pop tunes - any number of which could follow ATL to the upper echelons of the chart. High and Low glistens and sparkles from being imbued with passion and personality from the boys, choral touches and an immense chorus. it's like a Christmas single waiting to happen. Replace Your Heart also needs to be a single - it actually delightfully uplifting with another chorus that soars as high as all outdoors. It's boy band, but it's distinctly Wanted boy band. The album is a cohesive set of tunes that flow together nicely and should be just on the right side of cool to help them enter a bigger marketplace. Plus! They have a lovely range of footwear :) One Direction could hardly model themselves on anyone better...
• Big Time Rush ~ BTR: American boy band du jour are Big Time Rush, a fictional band put together for a Nickleodeon tv comedy. Now in it's second season, it's like a sillier Glee but certainly not without it's charm - and certainly not without the tunes. They present themselves as a cross between The Click Five and One Direction doing P!nk, and their debut album has some real winning moments that could see them easily become the millenial Monkees! Til I Forget About You is a big singalong tune with a perky beat and chanting chorus that imbeds itself firmly in your brain. Boyfriend is a dreamy treat for any tween and has your foot tapping along, reminiscing about the days when you were able to singalong to pop confectionary like this without anyone judging you. At times they come across like a junior version of The Script while other times they are matching note for note the current pop sound of female contemporaries like the aforementioned P!nk and Katy perry. What it lacks in originality, it makes up for in catchy tunes, charm and enthusiasm. Listen without prejudice :)

Tomorrow - the return of established boybands!

Boy bands eh? I've adored them ever since I was little and will probably continue to adore them when i've long since been in my cold cold grave (because by then modern technology will enable me to live on cyber-style as an iPad or amazon kindle or on twitter or something). Yet - much like any other pop genre - success can be a tricky thing for them to attain. For every Westlife, Take That, JLS or The Wanted, there is a Digital, Billiam, V, Vigo and Avenue. Most of whome I've effused about on these pages at one point or another. crikey! Anyway, time to have a look at some of the current stock out there and what they are currently up to (and most importantly how hunky they are)...

THE ALTERNATIVE SELECTION:

• The Overtones ~ what with Glee shining a spotlight on innovative vocal harmony, the time is right for a group of fellas to come along and woo England with their doo-wop stylings. The Overtones are 5 everyday chaps who come from a painting and decorating background. Obviously singing on the job has paid off as they now have a record deal and their first album is out in October. Amazes. They have produced a mix of original songs and 50s/60s cover versions. Their debut single "Gambling Man" is a self penned effort that effervesces with charm - it's a solid, finger clicking 3 minutes of jazz tinged cool that is heavy on melody and weaves their voices intrinsically with each other without overpowering the music. I also like that it's a bit cheeky and while is imbued with their musical influences also manages to feel entirely at ease in today's pop landscape. This is reflected in their clothing choices too - vintage "Mad Men" styling with a hint of modern geek chic about them. I'm tres excited about their debut album Good Ol' Fashioned Love and sense that they may be a new obsession of mine. Hurrah! Oh and they are quite dishy too :P
• Straight No Chaser ~ I've enjoyed the Christmassy albums of SNC for a couple of years now. This vocal harmony group manages to outdo Glee with their latest album full of a variety of cover versions that manage to twist and invert what you know about the song and bring something new to the table. Take their latest single - Tainted Love. Sure everyone has heard this tune in Soft Cell format, but in the hands of SNC they turn it into an effortlessly cool, wonderfully harmonised effort where their voices replace the instruments and still make it sound layered and lush all at the same time. The video (click here - embedding disabled which is of course hideous) seems like a riff on The Hangover movie as the boys get up to all sorts of shenanighans in Las Vegas. Oh that's my type of party...

THE TRADITIONAL ROUTE:

• Boy Banned ~ busy preparing their debut UK single are the quartet known as Boy Banned. Possibly a play on the Girls Aloud name (and of course boy band, i'm not totally thick you know :P) they are busy building quite the following on twitter and facebook and engaging with their fans at every opportunity. A clip of their first single proper Street Light shows them leading with an engaging tune that builds on a strong, resonant vocal with minimal instrumental (that's vaguely reminiscent of the brilliant Living In A Box song Room In Your Heart that some boy band absolutely must cover or I will explode!) before launching into a luscious, mid-tempo ballad with an engaging beat and memorable refrain. It builds on all the successful tenents of previous boybands and bodes well for the full length version and video which is apparently coming soon. Oh, and while all the boys seem very charming, I must confess that it's Ethan's pop star hair and innocent face that has me most entranced ;)
• Big Time Rush ~ how on earth have I missed the monumental Nick tv show about a boy band?! This is ridiculous! Why did nobody tell me? They not only have some madcap adventures on tv, but they are prepping their debut album for release in October. If it is like their lead off single Til I Forget About You, it promises to be a power pop extravaganza the likes of which haven't been seen since the glory days of The Click Five (are they still going?!) Season 2 has just started on Nick, so I'm busy playing catch up so I can keep up with the tween phenomenon!

Other established boy band goodness coming your way this "fall"... new take that! new A1! new Westlife! new McFly! new JLS! More Wanted! And they say boy bands are over... Who else should I be checking out?