It’s so funny that I was just talking with a friend on the FaceBook about the Girl Groups of the ‘50s and ’60s, and the next thing I knew, I was clicking on the link to “Rolleiflex”, the wildly nostalgia-inducing new video from 20 year-old Detroit native Blaire Alise and her band, The Bombshells. OMG, this video amazing!
Shot on Super 8 film, the video will feel instantly familiar to viewers of a certain age: like a collection of memories in a visual scrapbook, or even like a favorite dream. While watching it, I felt at times like I was back in junior high school again. This song captures a magic that has been missing from music for a long time. It’s lyrical content, melody, and multi layered harmonies are first rate, and her vocal delivery is so heartfelt that it transports the listener to a time in life when, as unbelievable as that may seem in the present time, happiness was unquestionable. Production values are excellent as well. Blaire admits that “Rolleiflexis about memories, specifically, “It’s about trying to capture all of the moments you can, with the fear of not being able to take all of them in.” I think she succeeds beautifully.
Blaire Alise is currently based in New York, where she and The Bombshells regularly perform. “Rolleiflex” can be found on their new album, My Eye, which is out now. Enjoy!
Well known on the NYC rock scene as the guitarist and primary songwriter behind retro garage-pop quartet The Friggs, Palmyra Delran is a bit of a local music icon. While The Friggs never broke commercially, they opened for legendary bands such as The Ramones and Cheap Trick, earning a devote regional following as well as solid professional props for being an “all-girl” band that could rock as hard as any group of guys. In her second solo venture, Delran stays close to the layered pop sound she helped to hone in The Friggs, while continuing to demonstrate innovation with regard to arrangements and intriguing personal storytelling in songs that draw the listener into her very relatable world.
If Palmyra Delran isn’t the coolest chick on the block, I don’t know who is. Seamlessly blending the guitar rock grit of Joan Jett with the pop sensibilities and subtle humor of Blondie, You Are What You Absorb will feel instantly familiar to fans of the classic Girl Groups, Sixties Psychedelia, Surf Rock and the very best of the early eighties New Wave movement. There’s not a lot of timeless music being made today, but the twelve memorable tracks on You Are What You Absorb certainly qualify as such, being packed with lyrical hooks sharp enough to draw blood and retro musical flourishes, such as sitar and organ, that establish Palmyra’s reverential connection to the past while bringing her music into the present.
A favorite track among many is the single “Shy Boy” – an endearing love song to a reluctant wallflower that will melt the coldest heart. I also dig the way that the propulsive drumbeat and furious guitar outtro of “Lies For You” dig deep to fondly recall the Nick Lowe-penned Elvis Costello classic, “(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love & Understanding.” Bringing other unexpected influences the forefront, Delran’s expert guitar playing on “Never to Be Back Again,” especially, recalls Jeff Beck’s distinctive riffage on The Yardbird’s “Heart Full of Soul,” and I don’t think there is much higher praise to give than that. Palmyra also shows her stylistic versatility on “The Turtle,” which successfully flirts with sixties lounge jazz.
Although it’s still pretty chilly on the East coast, as New York fights hard to break into spring, you need to grab a copy of You Are What You Absorb right away, so you can get ready to take it to the beach with you, add it to Party Mixes and slap it on the car stereo for long drives with the car top down as these songs become the soundtrack to your Best Summer Ever.
Palmyra Delran’s You Are What You Absorb is out now and available for purchase on iTunes, Amazon.com and wherever quality rock is procured.
Grade: A
View the acclaimed video for “You’re My Brian Jones” Below:
