Take It!

Take It! opens with a call to action (and/or the dancefloor) called "It's a Beautiful Thing" that has the winsome charm of a Sarah Records single mixed with a Beatlesque melody that wouldn't sound out of place on a Sire-era Flamin' Groovies record. While nothing else on this lengthy album quite hits that high level, the second album by these Philadelphia garage poppers (only two albums in 15 years) is a solidly entertaining set that wisely steers clear of the usual power pop clichés in favor of a sound that's backwards-looking but not particularly derivative. Primary songwriter Jim Slade has a knack for interesting similes (the puckish "Home Court Advantage" is one of the better love-in-turmoil lyrics on the album) and catchy melodies, and secondary songwriter Mike Frank does a fine turn in the George Harrison role, turning in the quietly impressive "Visionary." Second vocalist Dorothy Haug could really use an expanded role in the band, as her wistful solo, "Get It Together," is one of the album's best songs, but main singer Andy Rosenau should be commended for ignoring the usual top-of-the-range whininess that occasionally plagues this type of pop. For its occasional shortcomings (15 songs is maybe three or four too many and the title track could stand to be a minute or two shorter), Take It! is a fine example of the pop underground at the start of a new century.