Warm weather calls for a different type of music. No more of this mopey, sad-sack stuff. Bust out the upbeat, the melodic, the toe-tapping goodness that is reserved for the time of year when the weather is nice and no one can stop you from wearing sandals outside.

New Jersey’s own The Black Hollies aren’t exactly reinventing the musical wheel with their newest full length Casting Shadows, but their brand of decades old rock is just the thing that spring calls for. Tracks like “Paisley Pattern Ground” and “That Little Girl” are just the kind of song that would have young girls screaming at the TV set back in the black and white era.

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Quick and catchy guitar rhythms prop up slightly echoey vocals, with melodies that will remain in your head for long after the track is over. The drums throughout the album have that loose, carefree style that is just sloppy enough to allow for some experimentation, yet they always remain on track. Guitars remain in lock-step rhythm and then veer off into a fuzzed-out territory when need be, like on “Under A Winter’s Spell.” The track takes the band to a psychedelic level that serves as a nice break from their consistently upbeat pop.

Sure the talk of “harvest moon[s]” and “kaleidoscopic wishes” may not resonant with someone who is not currently on LSD, but lyrically the band is able to craft songs that half the time aren’t nearly as upbeat as they sound (just read the lyrics to “ Bruised Tangerines” and you’ll get what I mean). With a style that harkens back to the “Summer of Love” and a time when hippies roamed the earth, The Black Hollies are able to do more than just coast on similarities to a generation gone by and utilize catchy songwriting to put their own modern take on an old style. Will I still be listening to Casting Shadows when the days get shorter and the weather colder? Probably not, but for now it’s a great addition to any spring musical lineup

Tags: Album Review, Album Spotlight, the black hollies //