The Red Button, She's About To Cross My Mind

The 2007 debut from this L.A. duo is yet another super-cool retro-pop album I picked up on a recent shopping spree, guided only by Amazon.com's intermittently helpful "Customers who bought this item also bought..." links. Another self-conscious throwback to the '60's, this one taps into an unambiguous British Invasion sound, fitting in easily with the Zombies, Kinks, early Beatles, Herman's Hermits, etc. It's consistent across the board, with nearly every song checking in with two minutes of solid hummable hooks. They get the sound just right (though it does have a bit of a mid-fi home-produced quality to it). Pretty impossible not to like.

Interestingly, only on reading the liner notes did I realize that the band includes Mike Ruekberg, nice guy a few years behind me in high school back in suburban Chicago. I'd heard on and off through the years about his various musical ventures (through my brother, who was in his class), so it was great to see him in such a cool combo. Go check it out.

Oh, and here's the video: