The Stereo

Three Hundred (Fueled By Ramen)
by Tim Den

The first thing you’re going to hear about The Stereo is going to be the whole “ex-members of” bullshit. Okay, so Rory and Jamie used to be in The Impossibles and Animal Chin (respectively), but don’t anyone dare hold the ska thing against them. If being in above-average skacore bands was what it took to get these two to realize their ambition lay elsewhere, so be it (besides, Animal Chin fuckin’ rocked no matter what genre was tagged on them). All that matters is that The Stereo is fun as all hell, and that this is pop rock at its best.

With a style that sees an ’80s version of Foo Fighters joining forces with Ben Folds Five, Three Hundred can make anyone sing. The vocals are just so sweet. Especially those of guitarist/vocalist Jamie, whose range and power-throated melodies slide up and down the register like mercury, but still maintain huge hooks. “Devotion” is evidence enough. Listen to the backup harmonies when he sings “no matter what you’re going through”: whoa. Beach Boys anyone? Queen perhaps? Who cares, it rips! The guitars aren’t afraid of putting up a fight either, churning out some huge distortion and meaty riffs. “Count Me Out” and “You Can’t Go Home Again” (written about Rory’s disbanding of The Impossibles) are just two examples. It reminds you of how anthemic and glorious pop rock can be when it’s done right. And no matter how hard I try, I can’t stop myself from dreaming to “Ramona.” Just wait until the Weezer crowd gets a load of this.

The duo’s (Jamie plays drums as well as guitar and vocals on the whole record, and the bass duties are switched from song to song) closet love for Wings and Elton John peaks its head out here and there as well, making its presence especially known on “Please Try to Understand” and “Divine.” Whereas the former will bring you back to “You Never Give Me Your Money,” the latter will surely be heralded as the next soccer stadium theme song. I can just hear 300,000 people singing it: “You’re divine! So divine!” Oh-oh, I smell a broadway musical tribute coming.

Everything that’s fun and exciting about pop rock is here. Three Hundred is the perfect sing-along, the perfect pick-me-up, the perfect “she broke up with me” music, and the perfect record to play at a party. Put on your dancing shoes and enjoy.
(PO Box 12563 Gainesville, FL 32604)