Customer Reviews

Better Than Before

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm not as enthused as earlier reviewers..But "better than before" is very enjoyable power pop. I was driving home from work, listening, thinking, hmmm artfully done Beatles/Cheap-Trickish stuff. OK, hmm. Then Track 8, "Better than Before" came on and, gee, this IS a first rate Beatles rip..could've been on any of their first 3 lps. A couple of minutes later, Track 10, 1:37 of perfect, revved up Buddy Holly. Original? no; perfectly conceived and executed? yes. I listened to the remaining tracks and then put "See you again" on repeat for the rest of the drive home.

More Detroit rockers with a certain Livepudlian fixation. Surely not even Jade Goody has failed to spot the ongoing rush of definite article bands and, yes, it is confusing. But don't mistake The Singles for The Forty-Fives or The Sights, even though they share a producer in Detroit scenester Jim Diamond.
This motor-city four-piece stand out by imagining garage rock as being solely inspired by the George songs on the early Beatles albums. It's hardly important music, but there's a real tangy, catchy pulse to "Come On" or "I'll Be Good To You" that makes most power pop sound insipid. Fab and, indeed, gear. Steve Lowe

Better Than Before is a brilliant album constructed with flowing harmonies and beats that force you to tap your feet. The retro sound is balanced perfectly by a creative new blast of power pop. The guitar play is especially strong and lends greatly to the overall success of the songs through a passionate and pure "let's rock" attitude. Think Weezer meets the Beatles meets Steve Miller Band. All around great album. I definitely reccomend it to anyone who needs a breath of fresh air in a suffocating music industry gasping for the next coming of Britney Mathers.

Skinny-tied power pop with a whiff of Mersey, Zombies and Chuck Berry.
Four-piece The Singles combine their native Detroit guitar flash with a love
for the perfect progressions of the '60's pop merchants.
"He Can Go, You Can't Stay" and "It'll Never Be The Same Again" identify the correct period
boy-girl love-hate thing, lashing loads of harmonies to floppy-fringed rhythms.
By the look of them, oil painters won't be making house calls, but this is bedroom/garage music,
best listened to in the locked-up-tight position, and with more hum factor than a silage barn. Max Bell

The Singles are no mere Detroit garage band, they're capable rock historians. Wearing 1960's pop/rock influences proudly on their sleeves, this Vincent Frederick-fronted combo nods to everyone from Buddy Holly ("See You Again") to the Zombies ("Until You Came Along") to the Who circa '65 ("I'm In Love With You"). These originals may not be that original, but skillfully constructed, Byrds-derived pop like "Since You've Been Gone" is impossible to resist. And "It'll Never Be the Same Again" pilfers the guitar hook from the Flamin' Groovies staple "Shake Some Action" with exemplary results. Still, the centerpiece of Better Than Before, produced by White Stripes vet Jim Diamond, is "I'm Coming Home to You," a gorgeous lament that's also the least derivative tune here. The Singles aren't breaking any new ground, and at times the retro material gets a bit redundant, but rarely has a history lesson been this fun.

OK, you've heard and read hype before. You're going to read it again. This is a great disc, beautiful fun, a long lost Beatles album...very cohesive and consistent, insistantly and instantly listenable through to the end. For me, elements of 60's garage punk ala Nuggets, early Beatles guitars, Brit-accent vocals, snapping snare drum, boy/girl lyrics, it's all there! What more could you want???

...but a very good example of what can be done nowadays by some young motor city music fans, inspired by some of the all-time pop highlights from several decades. So a delicious and, above all, fresh mixture of the Beatles, Byrds, Buddy Holly, Who and some end-of-the-seventies feeling which mades of them a kind of 21st century Flammin' Groovies.

But you can forget about that musical references and just listen and dance at your private Cavern or wherever you want, to this inmortal pop, full of vocal harmonies and Rickenbacker chords.

If you're looking for the now-sound of Detroit you shouldn't miss them (and of course don't forget about Motown, Stooges, MC5, Rationals, SRC, or even Kenny Burrell...).

Four lads from Detroit known simply as The Singles have recorded 14 songs that bare stark resemblance to the best of 60's British guitar pop. You couldn't accuse these young twenty-something's of being highly original, but once you listen to Better than Before, that really doesn't seem to matter. Bandleader Vince Frederick has an obsessive fascination with The Beatles formula. Combine that with the American vibe of the semi-fictional That Thing You Do soundtrack, and the post punk angst of our snobby indie elitist scene, and there you have it - The Singles presenting you Better Than Before. The guitars are raw, probably due to Jim Diamond (The White Stripes) co-producing with the band. "He Can Go, You Can't Stay" is the logical choice for college airplay, featuring a strong power-pop hook and post-punk energy with that endearing British slant. The vocals are amazing, drenched with romantic enthusiasm and 60's nostalgia. I'm in love with the straightforward guitar leads and `stomp-stomp' drum fills that give this record a large part of personality and vibe. Back up vocals are clean and enhance every part of the total sum of Better Than Before. The negatives to a recording such as this are obvious. The Singles run the risk of being thrown into the `novelty' category, and this isn't their intent. And while they may rank low in the originality department, they more than make up for it in the inspirational department. But no questions asked, this debut ranks as one of the best releases of 2003. From beginning to end, The Singles have serious `single' potential. If I name one song, I may as well name them all. 14 songs of pure 60's British guitar pop bliss. I won't be surprised at all if The Singles get just as huge as The White Stripes. All the right elements are in place. I think it's only a matter of (a small amount of) time. Regardless, I'll be able to say that I've been a fan of The Singles since day one. - gtj

When I first heard the single from this record "He Can Go, You Can't Stay", I immeadiately knew this was a band that had a real spark. Hailing from Detroit, but not falling into the wave of lo-fi garage bands currently pouring out of motown, The Singles are energetic on stage and on disc.

Better Than Before draws influences from 60's mersey-beat and stax/volt pop as well as 70s powerpop like the Flaming Groovies and The Nerves. Every track on this disc is a hit in an alternate universe, and Vince, Dave, Will & Dave are the stars they deserve to be. They just played the Little Steven Undergroung Garage fest in NYC along with the Strokes, NY Dolls, The Romantics & about 40 other great bands - show 'em some love & buy this record.

If the Singles resembled a car they'd be today's Mini-Cooper: Legendary style and feel rebuilt with modern technology equals a whole lot of rockin' fun!

This is a sweet combo of Mid 60's Merseybeat-inspired Power Pop songwriting with raw 3-part harmonies turbocharged with today's modern "Garage Rock" power ala the Strokes and Hives.

Nothing new or innovative here, but The Singles display everything that made UK 63-66 Pop such a memorable time in Rock history - now Americanized and updated for today.