Ted Leo/Pharmacists

Tell Bageary, Balgury Is Dead (Lookout!)
by Tim Den

Is Ted Leo our generation’s Paul Weller? For sure, no one else pulls off the Jam/Kinks vibe as convincingly or well-crafted as Leo. Even on a mostly-acoustic/solo EP such as this, his staggering voice (as clear, well-enunciated, full-lunged, and bright as his contemporaries are not) and tasteful fretwork give up what could be timeless pop gems.

And even though he has yet to match his most stellar work (’01’s The Tyranny of Distance), Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead is nothing to shake a stick at. If anything, just a spin of the title track will reveal all that’s missing in modern pop: Soul, balls, power, and fucking pizzazz.
(3264 Adeline St. Berkeley, CA 94703)