Power pop. Chamber pop. Indie Pop. Alternative Pop. Indeed, pop music can be a chameleon that defies easy description. Although many bands tackle just one aspect of it, Hop on Pop begs the question...why not tackle them all? On their debut album "As [+]Power pop. Chamber pop. Indie Pop. Alternative Pop. Indeed, pop music can be a chameleon that defies easy description. Although many bands tackle just one aspect of it, Hop on Pop begs the question...why not tackle them all? On their debut album "As Drawn by Ethan, Age 2," the band does exactly that.
Shredding power chords and an assaulting chorus build-up finds the band at its sonic zenith in the CD's opener "If It's Important To You". There's no time to catch your breath as the mad-scientist's concoction "Ashes on the Water" follows with its seemingly endless layers of feedback, moog, guitar-wash and uniquely conjured harmonies. The churning, bouncy English dancehall single "Cary's Here" leads into the dynamic majesty of "Miles from Monday". When Hop on Pop strips down for bare-bones acoustic excursions like "False Start" or an unblushing ballad "I Do", be prepared for the coming storms of "Suckers" and the re-invigorated Sub Rosa classic "I Got it Back". The CD closes by blasting the listener with a maelstorm of distortion-laden neo-Nirvana crunch on "Block Block", a chaotic joy ride into the sunset. If someone's guitar didn't get smashed at the end of the song, it was only because the band fell down laughing.
The idea of Hop on Pop first emerged while founding member and singer-songwriter-guitarist Todd Leiter-Weintraub was kicking around his self-recorded "Lo-fi is Better than No-Fi At All" EP in 2002. At the time, Leiter-Weintraub was merely testing the waters for label support to possibly release a full-length debut album. The demo featured spare acoustic offerings with few embellishments and even fewer production values. However, even with the limited sound quality, the spirit and execution of the songs were vibrant and compelling. Then again, Todd was no newcomer to music or songwriting.
Leiter-Weintraub had briefly cut his teeth in punk bands such as Cash Cow (1994-5) and Chew Toy (1995), playing Naked Raygun-inspired fast'n'loud punk with reckless abandon (and sporting a mohawk to boot). After the pure punk phase wore off, his most formative stint began in the quartet Sub Rosa in 1996, alongside Chicago music veterans vocalist/bassist Tim Ferguson (The Me Decade, Red Plastic Buddha), guitarist Todd Lazar and drummer David Kling. Sub Rosa c
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