THE DB’S

Falling Off the Sky

thedbsonline.net

In power-pop, there’s no success quite like failure. For whatever reason, the genre’s best and brightest tend to be cult heroes rather than the Top 40 superstars their tunefulness would seem to suggest—and this is certainly true of the dB’s. During their original 1978-1988 run, the North Carolina-born, New York-based foursome played earworm ’60s rock with an arty New Wave bent, influencing the likes of R.E.M. and They Might Be Giants. On their first album since 1987 (and first since ’82 to include co-frontman Chris Stamey) the dB’s snap right back into place. If the organ-led garage-pop opener “That Time Is Gone” amounts to sly self-deprecation, the subsequent tracks more than justify the reunion. The group’s still-enthralling jangle (“Send Me Something Real”), psychedelic floweriness (“Far Away and Long Ago”) and Southern soulfulness (“The Wonder of Love”) are all ably showcased. The band continues to benefit from having two distinct songwriters: Stamey delivers the more experimental fare, leaving partner Peter Holsapple to sing such heartfelt rockers as “World to Cry” and “I Didn’t Mean to Say That.” On closer “Remember (Falling Off the Sky),” they harmonize on the line, “I won’t be back again.” Hopefully, they’re not talking about the band.