How can you not love a band that subliminally embeds a picture of a naked woman into the front cover of their new album?
Now that I’ve got your attention, lemme tell ya that the BoDeans’ Resolution is nothing short of extraordinary. I mean, how often do you hear a new album by a band that hasn’t been around for years and years wherein each and every single track on it sounds like a familiar hit single that you’ve had running around in your head for years and years?
That doesn’t mean that Resolution is derivative, it means that all the songs on it are so loaded with catchy, convincing musical hooks and vocal melody lines that you feel as if you’ve been listening to them forever and ever — amen.
In fact, this is one instance where the overused word “classic” fits because the BoDeans put to shame a slew of other bands who think they know what they’re doing in a country-folk-rock-pop vein, but actually don’t have the faintest clue what to do and how to do it. What’s more, it’s by no means any stretch of the imagination to say that the BoDeans’ Resolution is the CSNY Déjà Vu of the 21st century — it’s that damned good from start to finish.
So if I were you, I’d make a point of going to see these guys play this modern pop masterpiece live because this is one of those rare record releases that just might be a benchmark event. It’s certainly a turning point in the career of the BoDeans because, having been given a second lease on life, they’ve gone and made the absolute most of it.
And what more can you ask from a band than that?
BoDeans appear Friday, Aug. 20, at the Royal Oak Music Theatre (318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; call 248-645-6666).
E-mail Jeffrey Morgan at [email protected].
