Good Sound But Lack Of Tunes
The Needles are: Dave Dixon (guitar, vocals), Paul Curtiss (Bass), Richey Wolfe (keyboards, vocals) and Johnny Wolfe (drums, vocals). They play rock n roll that sounds deceptively simple but has a new wave/indie edge to it. This comes through with their use of off kilter quirky guitar parts and the keyboards so strangely that sometimes they end up sounding a bit like Squeeze, (even the lead vocals). Their particular combination of new wave/indie/pop produces something with a really old school jangly 60s-ish vibe (especially tracks like "Poison Ivy" – think The Beach Boys), but the things that hark back to the past; the fuzzy, scratchy, raw sound mixed with playful power-pop also have a lot in common with bands around at the moment, like The Young Knives. The album's production has a nice raw, fresh, fuzzy sound which suits their short n snappy tunes, "Girl I Used To Know" is a stand out track – sort of Weezer meets The Kinks only unfortunately not quite as catchy as either.
Most of the tunes on "In Search of The Needles" aren't particularly hook laden or catchy but they do move along at a rapid and punchy pace which is often a good thing for a pop song and they do have the odd moment where they really sparkle, like "Dianne" and "Summer Girls" which has, despite its name, quite a dark almost menacing sound to it and is definitely their finest moment. The album is only 35 minutes long in total so it's over pretty quickly, but a lot of the time it doesn't really keep you that interested or engaged, and doesn't stay with you for long afterwards.
They definitely have a style of their own making, but it can also be a strange record, veering from full on theatrical and lighthearted 60s pop and even a cheesy ballad with the last track "In The Morning", to a more serious and interesting indie sound (the more indie tracks are the better ones and really show their potential). Strangely though, on the album as a whole the tracks start to blend together after a while, even though they have these two different sounds it doesn't feel like there is that much going on, underneath the different styles the tunes are quite similar and they seem to stick to the same 3 minute formula for each so even though you remember their sound, it's difficult to remember individual tracks.