Lunchbox - After School Special [blue/white marbled vinyl] - New LP

power pop that owes a lot to the pop side of the 1960s, Bacharach, bubblegum from the late 1960s (and early 1970s), mod-pop from the mid 1960s, showing hints of the pop sides of the Who, Love, VU, and the Stones but this seems more like it was influenced by the pop that influenced those artists. -- winch (green noise records) 

Lunchbox's Tim Brown and Donna McKean have been making records for two decades, inspired by 1960s/70s AM-radio pop and TV show theme music, punk, C86, and mod à la the Creation and the Jam. "After School Special" finds them at the height of their powers of songcraft and performance. Donna's Carol Kaye-meets-John Entwhistle bass and Tim's scratch 'n' jangle guitar are complemented by horns from Gary Olson and Jeremy Goody, while whisps of analog tape feedback and Evelyn Davis' keyboards give the record an otherworldly vibe in keeping with its autumnal lyrical themes. From the shimmering opener "Dream Parade" to the horn-driven mod-pop of "Hide and Seek" and the haunting male-female vocal stylings of the title track and album closer, the textures shift while the unity of artistic vision remains. Catchy as hell and beautifully packaged, this is Lunchbox at their very best.

"But some of the world’s best music is bubblegum." PT