I loved The Shakes last release, with its lighthearted, bouncy pop delivered with sincerity to rival Jonathan Richman. And, in general, I hate when a band goes from themes like changing the world with songs about girls to more “serious” topics. And I almost always hate concept albums. But guess what? Peter Gilabert is such a good songwriter, and the band does such a brilliant job of melding the more intellectual side of The Kinks with the more innocent side of The Modern Lovers, that you can’t help but love every moment of The Rise and Fall of Modern Living. One of my favorite bands right now.
–brian (Teenacide)