The Resonars: Nonetheless Blue

The Resonars
Nonetheless Blue
Get Hip
2007-10-16

The Resonars, out of Arizona, are deceptive on a couple of levels. First, there’s the music, which could be lost vinyl, picked up at a church sale, dog-eared and faded, curbsided after decades in someone’s dad’s 45″ collection. Inside you’ll fine sunny, psych-tinged garage, full of surging Hollies-esque harmonies and jangly guitar, short only a few pops and scratches for pure 1960s authenticity. And yet, the record was made last year in Tuscon, and includes not a single Nuggets-era cover. Second, there’s the matter of the band, or should we say “the band”, for Resonars are essentially Matt Rendon. Suprisingly this very band-like CD was made by a solitary one-man show, who plays guitar, bass, drums here, not to mention singing tight three part harmonies all by himself. Yes, things are not what they seem here, but they are very, very fine anyway, from the tang-sweet oohs and ohs of the title track through the feedback crazed psychedelia of Byrdsian closer “Three Times Around.” “Your Concern” with its tightly wound, circular guitar riff and achingly sweet vocals sounds like the Gripweeds (themselves sounding like the Monkees, the Zombies and the Electric Prunes), while rollicking “Games of Fear” has a Brit-wave country lilt to it. You will not learn anything about the contemporary music scene from this record, nor will you position yourself at the vanguard of the new and the cool. Still if you’re interested in the best 1960s record made in 2007, or the best band to actually consist of one very busy guy, check it out. Appearances are so often misleading.

RATING 7 / 10