Rock Star Journalist

The #1s — in addition to being one of the hardest bands to find in our modern-day #hashtag culture — have been making quite a name for themselves in the pop underground as of late. They’ve put out two singles in rapid succession, and finally have a proper United States release with their “Sharon Shouldn’t” single on Sorry State and Alien Snatch.

The title track is a masterful piece of power-pop, with a really crisp sound to it. If the sleeve didn’t tip you off to their early-’80s sonic aesthetic, the opening seconds of the track will immediately clue you in. There’s no fuzz on this cut — everything is super-clean and high end, rocking out with just a little of that vocal effect that sounds like you’re singing into a very quiet bullhorn. Lots of dropped-out bits — dropping out all the instruments to let the vocals take hold; letting the drums and bass do a little chooglin’, then slicing some razor-sharp guitar riffs through them — make for some great dynamic moments.

The b-sides, “Boy” and “Girl” are mirror images of one another, as well as of the a-side itself. “Boy” is a shambolic, sloppy mess of a song that has some charms, sadly obscured by the piss-take nature of the recording. Its opposite, “Girl,” is far calmer, evoking memories of every single ’60s slow-dance ode every recorded. They’re both pretty garage-y — lots of echo and reverb, a total 180 from the crisp, clean production of “Sharon.”

It’s available now from the Sorry State store on both black and red vinyl, although the red’s limited to 92 copies and mailorder only — so fucking hurry, already.