Terrific EP from Lake Charles, LA power poppers
Research Turtles are a terrific power pop band, but releasing records out of their Lake Charles, Louisiana base, and playing mostly local shows, they still haven’t broken through commercially. But their lack of national renown isn’t for want of great music or promotional savvy; they’ve effectively worked music bloggers, and last year they organized fans to vote the band’s self-titled album as Radio Six International’s “Record of the Year†for 2010. The Turtles have recently knocked out the first of two EPs, deepening the punch of their rhythm section, adding fullness to their guitars and adding layers to their vocal harmonies. The band’s five new songs include the rapturously upbeat “You Are So,†the mid-tempo “Bugs in a Jar†and the heavier (and glammier) “Rhinestone Gal.†Influences include Cheap Trick, T Rex, Badfinger, the Cars, Greenberry Woods, Hollies and Beatles, but without too vigorous a nod to any one of them. Won’t somebody sign this band and get them some wider attention already? [©2011 hyperbolium dot com] 