The Mighty Lemon Drops

The kind of band that seems destined to slip through the slats of history, the Mighty Lemon Drops were sort of popular and sold a few records in the late '80s and early '90s, but were mostly dismissed by the rock intelligentsia as Echo & the Bunnymen copyists. You are unlikely to find many bands in 2004 that would give MLD as an influence; in fact, you might find it hard to round up a softball team's worth of people who even remember them. Devil in the Woods is now out to change that, at least among the kind of people who buy tiny-label indie rock, with Young, Gifted, and Black Country. The disc takes nine tracks from a 1988 session on the late great Deidre O'Donoghue's Snap program on KCRW and adds the Like an Angel EP from 1985. The session is made up of a nice mix of songs from the band's two albums (Happy Head and World Without End), single tracks, and a romping cover of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black." Stripped of the studio sheen, the Mighty Lemon Drops prove to be quite a rocking little unit, and invest their songs with an added level of excitement and power. They do sound like Echo, they do sound like Joy Division (on "Closer to You"), they do sound like The Teardrop Explodes (on the cover of "When I Dream"), but mostly they manage to sound like themselves, and when they marry their sound to a ripping tune like "Inside Out" or "Out of Hand," they come up with something rather good. The EP is the group's first release and, according to guitarist David Newton, it is their best. He might have a point, as the four songs are among their most direct and melodic, and the production is Wire sharp and quite invigorating. "Now She's Gone" and "Like an Angel" sound especially strong, with the latter practically bursting out of the speakers in a wild mix of Echo and the Jesus and Mary Chain. The packaging is deluxe, with new essays, photos, and flyer reproductions. A fan's delight and a good way to get into a band you may have missed or, more likely, forgotten about. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide