The debut single by Indiana's greatest dirty bubblegum bopper exports since the Gizmos is here, and it's really going to warm you up, inside and out. Within the first few magical chords of the Romance Novels' "Another Summer," you can instantly feel them break through another glassy layer of blackness inside us all, and it really has the power to bring a smile to your eternally sour mug. Their torturously simple songs conjure up stupid daydreams of how good life can get, like the beginning of an endless summer vacation with your best friends and a car full of "iffy" chicks on the last day of high school, or something equally free and easy. With just a hint of that innocent Eddie Cochran guitar twang overblown with some of the most classic, and simplistic drums and a hell of a wild front man, you can bank on this being a winner from a mile away. Just like that beautiful feeling you got the first time you heard those Modern Lovers demos that Kim Fowley produced, or what it must have been like to watch John Felice and the Real Kids take their first steps putting songs together, the Romance Novels can no longer be ignored. Sure there's no new ground broken here, but their sheer passion, timeless songs, and how they bring it all home to clamor together in some of the most wonderfully ramshackle raw pop you're going to hear all year, is reason enough to look this up. The B-side, "Quarter To Four," is another dance party home run smash hit that future generations will surely hold dear, and you'll find it virtually impossible to listen to this only once per side, as with the flip. Throw these guys on a bill with the Tuff Bananas, and the Bold Ones and nothing could beat it, right? June 23rd at Ronny's in Chicago, don't miss the Romance Novels headlining the Victim of Time 1st Anniversary Party, so keep your calendars clear. This time, it's on a Saturday so all the leg-humpers that missed 'em last time can get corrected, and not have to worry about stinking around the boss the next morning.
Released on their own Pizza Party Records label (also in an early edition of only 15 with spray-painted sleeves), this is an honestly authentic record with nothing to hide and with an impossibly rocking and contagious fun vibe running through it like a bolt of lightning. Find it in yourself to hate cancer and love the Romance Novels, it's really just that easy. Pick up a copy of the record direct through the band HERE, or via our fine mailorder links to your right, on the front page.
here's a video clip of the Romance Novels 'Hard 2 Get' filmed live at Downtown Records in Lafayette...
