The Sights

Got What We Want (Fall of Rome)
by Brian Varney

Ha ha! I know I should probably be talking about the music, but I gotta admit, the first thing I noticed about this disc was the ridiculous picture of one the band members trying to imitate his cat’s facial expression on the CD traycard, which is just begging to be lampooned in this mag’s 9mm Photoshoot column.

Once I actually got around to popping the CD in the player, the first band that came to mind was Cheap Trick. The two bands don’t sound especially alike, it’s just that The Sights, like Cheap Trick, so deftly combine the raw, sleazy swagger of classic Stones with the sterling pop sensibilities of the Beatles. Usually Beatles vs. Stones is an either/or, but in some cases, such as this one, the two can comfortably cohabitate. Or, if that’s not obscure and record-geeky enough, how’s this sound: “Think Girlfriend-era Matthew Sweet meets The Action meets Deram-era Small Faces”?

Seriously though, Got What We Want is chock-a-block full of catchy pop tunes without all of the rough edges filed off, which means it’ll probably be too rock for the Elephant 6 crowd (they do, after all, spend quite a bit of closer “Nobody” threatening to break into Zep’s “How Many More Times”) but too pop for the In The Red/Estrus gee-rage folk. I hope I’m wrong ’cause this is pretty much end-to-end terrific, but if I am right, well, it’s their loss, so fuck ’em.
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