Review: THE PUBLIC GOOD

Recently the band THE PUBLIC GOOD came across my desk. I liked the way they were described so I HAD to give them a listen.

I think they are best described as alternative rock. This quartet from Washington, DC have a definite Elvis Costello feel to them. And that's good, because the music is fun and light and easy to embrace. The vocals are unusual and delightful. The guitars, bass, keys, and drums are all well played and well mixed in the recordings. The production is excellent because it's not TOO polished. You know when you hear a record that's over-produced and actually suffers as a result of too much attention? None of that here. It's JUST RIGHT. The right balance. The right feel. The right album to give a listen to.

Below you will find various resources so you may check out the band for yourself. I would recommend THE PUBLIC GOOD if you're looking for something new to try!

About:

Although The Public Good have all the makings of a great power-pop band, their gritty sound and offbeat perspective add up to something else; something that defies easy labels. They are a band with something to say and their own way of saying it.

Some of their songs, such as “(Imagine the Girlfriends I’d Have) If I Still Had Hair,” are fun and funny on first listen, as the balding singer wishes out loud that science could clone Bob Dylan’s “big fro.” But keep listening and the song’s poignant sense of longing and self-doubt becomes gently apparent.

Other songs, like “Black Ice,” from the group’s new release A Varied Program of Stereo Dynamics for Your Wild Nights Alone, are deadly serious from the opening riff. The song is drawn from bassist/ vocalist Steve Ruppenthal’s reaction to a cancer diagnosis in his family. “It’s the little things in life that mean so much/ A tiny black spot that keeps us in touch,” he sings of an X-ray result that changes everything. “There’s no cheap emotion in that song,” says keyboardist/ guitarist/ vocalist Sam Esquith. “It’s not sentimental at all.”

• Comparison: Blur, Big Star, The White Stripes, The Who
• Influence: The Kinks, The Clash, The Replacements, The Jam, The Monkees

http://www.thepublicgoodonline.com/

http://www.myspace.com/thepublicgood

http://www.facebook.com/thepublicgood

http://twitter.com/thepublicgood