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Aug 19, 2010 Web Exclusive By Frank Valish

The debut full-length from this Parisian chamber pop trio picks up where 2008’s highly touted Pop de Chambre EP left off. The band is named for The Beatles album of the same name, and the Fab Four comparisons are apt to a degree. This group wears its love for melodic ‘60s pop music on its sleeve—things like The Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas & the Papas—but instead of sounding like a retro act, Revolver exercises its love with an expert’s grace and gentle touch. These are no hippy anthems, rather Revolver traffics in cool, laid back charm, just with three-part harmonies and string accents. Their mastery of the form is evident in such songs as the Simon and Garfunkel-esque “Luke, Mike & John” and “A Song She Wrote,” which borrows a melodic line from The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” before a raucous strings-and-guitar break segues into a harmony-laden closing.

The band has also grown since releasing its EP, featuring Middle Eastern-flavored strings on the haunting “Birds in Dm” and punchy electric guitar on “Get Around Town,” a track from the 2008 EP which is rendered livelier here. And “Do You Have a Gun?” is all sleazy, lounge act goodness and even includes a whistle solo. The band will be touring the States in the fall. Expect greatness. (www.revolvermusic.tv)

Author rating: 7/10