The Shakes - "S/T" - Teenacide Records

L.A.’s the Shakes have just released their debut record on Teenacide Records. The Shakes are a garage pop band with lots of cool boy/girl harmonies. Think the Kinks meets the Carpenters. The two main players are Pete Gilabert (Stool Pigeons) and Janet Housden (Redd Kross/Excessories) and they have a nice chemistry. "Shining On You" is the disk’s first track. The first song is a crunchy slice of pop that reminds me more than a little bit of Matthew Sweet. That’s a big complement in my book, cuz Sweet’s "Girlfriend" is the yardstick of pop-rock for me. Sweet short little guitar solo in there too. "Mine, Mine, Mine" let’s the Shakes 60’s garage roots come shining through. It’s fueled by a great little organ line and boy/girl harmonies. For just a second a caught a glimpse of the Partridge Family in there. "Let’s Make Out" is a mid-tempo number that every teenage boy can relate to. Gilabert sings; "but if I knew you better would I hate your guts? Would you drive me nuts…baby let’s make out." The song ends in a sizzling solo. The piano driven "Apartment Song" has a "White" era Beatles feel. Baby, put on those go-go boots and let’s start dancing to "Knee Highs Theme." You’ll be doing the Jerk in no time flat. You gotta love that organ groove and harp solo. The Shakes write lots of great songs that’ll get stuck in your head for days. I like this pop twist on the current garage revival.