explosive pop from redcoats

Behind The Door I Keep The Universe (Atlantic)

The Dentists

By Kevin Gibson

How to describe The Dentists. Hmmm.

This band is proof that the British Invasion was never officially called off. The disguises are just better. Behind The Door I Keep The Universe, a 12-song disc, mixes beautiful harmonies and dreamy vocals with a punk attitude and jangly guitar work to form one of those music collections that has a distinct sound yet still evades classification. It's like Herman's Hermits meet R.E.M., or something like that.

While The Dentists spend much of their time writing humorous if somewhat confusing lyrics about things like satellites and space men (and other things not of this earth), they display a knack for playing the simple, pop hook.

Track three, titled "Sorry Is Not Enough," is a perfect example of this. This is the closest this quartet comes to writing a so-called pop song, yet it really isn't much different from any of the other cuts, style-wise.

Those who enjoy power pop grooves, short songs, fast-paced beats, and interesting, intelligent lyrics are a cinch to dig The Dentists.