Click Five Greetings From The Imrie House CD

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
The Click Five: Eric Dill (vocals, guitar); Joe Guese (guitar, background vocals); Ben Romans (keyboards, background vocals); Ethan Mentzer (bass guitar, background vocals); Joey Zehr (drums, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Elliot Easton (guitar); Ruth Collins (violin); Larissa Scherer (cello, background vocals); Matt Tahaney, John Powhida (background vocals).
After selling 10,000 copies of its debut EP on the road as opener for disposable pop chanteuse Ashlee Simpson, Boston's Click Five brings forth its own recipe of hookified pop with Greetings From Imrie House. Claiming to draw from Cheap Trick and Matthew Sweet, a listen to the band's song cycle actually finds them closer to a hybrid of slick popsters the Calling and the much more credible Fountains of Wayne. Once learning that the band's first single "Just the Girl" was penned by the latter's Adam Schlesinger -- who also wrote the album's other hit-contender, "I'll Take My Chances" -- it all makes sense. Although this suit-clad group has a radio-ready, '80s-inspired sound thanks to producer Mike Denneen (Fountains of Wayne, Aimee Mann) that also recalls the Cars', much in part to guitar assistance in the studio from that band's axe-master Elliot Easton, the band still feels far more disposable than the Knack did back in 1979. That's not to say strong, punchy rockers like "Pop Princess" won't reap them instant acclaim. ~ John D. Luerssen
With an approach that sounds like the Cars colliding with the Backstreet Boys, the Click Five has carved out a musical niche that combines driving power-pop with soaring teen anthems. This fresh-faced Massachusetts quartet excels at light, catchy tunes that glide along smoothly on crystal-clear vocal harmonies, punchy guitars, and prominent synthesizers. In fact, it's no surprise that the group's main songwriter is keyboardist Ben Romans, who gilds many of the tracks on GREETINGS FROM IMRIE HOUSE with up-front, retro-sounding keys. The band enlists the songwriting help of Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger on the pop-perfect New Wave-tinged "Just the Girl," which showcases frontman Eric Dill's assertive vocals, and the organ-driven ballad "I'll Take My Chances," while "Lies" revisits the Thompson Twins' 1980s hit with verve. A fun, immediately engaging record, this debut, with its deft balancing of unabashed pop and high-energy rock, has "Top 40" written all over it.Entertainment Weekly (No. 834, p.143) - "The missing link between Backstreet Boys and Fountains of Wayne..." - Grade: B