The C-60’s

(Spongebath)
by Katy Shea

The movie:Valley Girl (1982). Nicholas Cage emerges from a sordid bar bathroom tryst (is there any other kind?) to stare wide-eyed and drunk at the bar band. It is there and then that he experiences the Earth-shaking epiphany (re: how to win back the love of his valley girl). The band was, of course, The Plimsouls, and to the strains of “A Million Miles Away,” we witness the beauty and grace that is power pop. Power pop is sweet and percussive – levity, brevity, depth and pulse in a catchy under-produced wash of clarity that holds the salvation of every angst-ridden teenager who cares to listen. So it is with The C-60’s. The southern Florida trio has put out a new wave/light punk/power pop CD that delivers strong melodic surges and evidence of much burgeoning songwriting talent. It is clean and guitar-oriented, and Carey Peak’s vocals – young, pleading, and sincere – deftly carry the somewhat surprising depth of the lyrics. Songs like “Straight Low,” with its head-bobbing chorus, the fired up “2 O’Clock Drop,” and the infectious “Remote Control,” hit the pop mark solidly. Different enough from the radio monopoly of bands like Matchbox 20 to merit praise and attention.