The Click Five are possibly the smartest new band in pop music now. They match their hook-gorged power pop with their Beatle-esque suits and haircuts. Which is a perfect representation of what they are: the Beatles meets TRL by way of the ’80s. These pop-rockers pack their debut Greetings From Imrie House with hook after hook and enough slick production to shine your ears to a glossy sheen.
The standout track here is “Angel to You (Devil to Me)” where the boys of Click Five do their best Journey interpretation by shouting high pitched power vocals of “Suddenly!” and layering the humor over new wave rock to singer Eric Dill’s story of a draining girlfriend: “All my friends say ‘you lucky guy’/Everyone wants to stand in your place/And so I give it another try/I’m not sure how much more my poor heart can take.”
Their current chart-topping single, “Just the Girl,” has all the perfect components of a radio hit: a catchy hook, catchy lyrics and catchy pop-infused rock music. “She’s a mystery/She’s too much for me/But I keep comin’ back for more/She’s just the girl I’m lookin’ for,” sings Dill about a girl who doesn’t reciprocate his affections. Layered harmonies and melodic organ chords take this song to heights of radio perfection.
On “Catch Your Wave,” the boys pull out all the stops and produce the catchiest song this side of “Stacy’s Mom:” “Hey girl, I wanna catch your wave/Hey girl, I wanna drift away with you/Hey girl, you’ve got an undertow/Hey girl, hey girl, don’t wanna let you go,” sings Dill with enough energy and zeal that you find yourself belting from the sunroof of your car. Synth chords and slick melodies turn “Wave” into the biggest hit on Imrie House and possibly of the year.
“Friday Night” starts off with a twinkling outer-space synth chord that quickly goes into a dizzying mix of organ, synth and guitar hooks that hit you at all the right angles. “Pop Princess” survives on a power chorus that stomps along to make you nod your head with the catchy lyrics. And on “Lies,” Knight Rider comes alive with digital punches and industrial synth chords that add some thickness to Dill’s proclamations of the different lies he hears from his lover: “The white ones the red ones/And some you can’t disguise/The twisted twos that have the news/Can’t hide it in your eyes.”
The Click Five encounter heartbreak on the soaring rock of “Say Goodnight.” Dill sings of the pain he feels when he has to leave his girl: “Baby just walk away/You know I can’t stay/There’s no easy way to say goodbye/So baby just say goodnight,” which make the beautiful piano and synth melodies all the more bittersweet.
The Click Five have the potential to be the next big pop stars with Greetings From Imrie House. They have the look, they definitely have the music that fits perfectly with radio, and they even possess the ability to infuse undeniable hooks into the filler tracks like “Time Machine” and “Resign.” With Imrie House, Click Five have announced their arrival as the cooler cousins of Fountains of Wayne, and with their undeniable hooks and killer melodies, it’ll be hard to unseat these kings of power pop.