this one

No More Lunch!

Wild Dogs With X-Ray Eyes (Initial Records)

Helicopter Helicopter

By David Lilly

From Boston, Mass., the home of such diverse and gifted artists as Morphine and Jonathan Richman, comes Helicopter Helicopter. To the band's credit, they're not blatantly stealing from anyone, but they do have a way of evoking highlights of rock 'n' roll past while maintaining a modern feel. In other words, they manage to successfully bridge some musical generation gaps. Initially with Lunch Records, this is their first recording on Louisville's Initial Records (they played this year's KrazyFest as well).

On "Harsh Light," alone, HH's music suggests ELO, ZZ Top and Tom Petty sans thievery, but by weaving influences into original material that rocks. Most of this material is quite emotional as well, whether due to the melodies or the chord changes. The feeling is generally one of a bit of sadness balanced with hope and inspiration. Chris Zerby and Julie Chadwick sharing lead vocals, while Chadwick also handles most backups and sounding great together adds tasty flavor to the overall sound, like if peanut butter and jelly could sing. With Chadwick on lead tonsils and Zerby on backups, the galloping, "August," is another highlight. If you react to a question like, "Who likes good imagery and storytelling in song lyrics?" by stating, "I do," without my quoting anything, the lyrics are on the accompanying folder. If you like albums of good, emotional rock 'n' roll with hand-in-hand vocals, put this one on your list of things to buy.

I swear I'm not friends with Dionne Warwick, nor to my knowledge am I psychic. However, I sense you'll want to know more about this band, its music and its history. I urge you to buckle up, fly over to www.helicopterhelicopter.com

and check out this quartet. To find out when they play a Keswick Democratic Club near you (November 21), check their tour schedule.