The Spindles “Past and Present” Album Review by Plastic EP, Melbourne, Australia, November 1, 2020

Check out The Spindles’ “Past and Present” album!  If you want to hear a great group with a unique sound, this is it!  They are the American Beatles of 2020!  Standout tracks are “Annette,” “Prisoner of War,” “Whenever We’re Together,” and “I Want My Baby Back,” plus others.  Their sound is fresh and it is the sound of today!

“Prisoner of War” kicks off the record, introducing and establishing the band’s sound for the fans.  One listen and you are hooked.  “Look Through Any Window,” a great hit for the Hollies follows, and the Spindles make this song their own with a great fresh sounding American approach as only they can.

With “Whenever We’re Together,” the truly unique Spindles’ sound continues and envelops the whole song.  Turn up the volume and you can play this song forever.  The harmonies soar and transport the listener right into the song.  “Young Heart” starts off as a slower moving song that then builds up to a chorus that grabs you.  It is ballad rock at its most classic.  “Almost The Same” has lead guitar tones that pull you right into the groove.  Get set to be taken into the Spindles’ vacuum sphere.  “I Want My Baby Back” also has a modern, fresh take on that classic ‘60’s rock sound.

“Peace With The Past” is another great one.  It is moving, soft sounding rock pop at its best!  “Beginning To Be Your Friend” is a story song reflecting on a past relationship.  Listen to the melody line of the song and hear how the guitar talks to the listener.  “Mrs. Miller” follows and it is a special kind of Spindles’ song about lost love with rocking out guitars.

“Annette” is my favorite standout song on this cd!  It’s just got that sound for any party and it takes you back to the ‘60’s beach fun times.  You just cannot stop playing this song! With “If I Fall In Love,” just close your eyes and get into another Spindles’ love song, with great guitar sounds mixed with great harmonies throughout!  “Santa Fe” closes the album with a driving song that you need to play in your car, and it moves with fantastic guitars!

So get out there or go online and buy the Spindles’ 12-song cd “Past and Present!” It’s one great groove after the other!  Available through Amazon, Apple/ITunes, Bandcamp, Barnes and Noble, CD Baby, Kool Kat Musik, Spotify, Target, Tower Records, YouTube, and other music providers. For more band information, visit thespindlesband.com website.

"Past and Present" is a Tuneful, Long-Lasting Treasure

The Spindles are a band that soothingly harkens back to the joyful sounds of yesteryear but what makes it stick out is not the emulations of revered bands from decades gone (The Hollies, the Records, and some of the now long-lost indie power pop sounds of the mid to late ‘90s), it's the passion and earnest confidence and competence in its grooves that has won me over.

"Look Through Any Window" lights up the Hollies jangle so clearly, you could be convinced it's a forgotten treasure from that band because...it IS exactly that. A perfect cover of the Hollies. You try and pull that off, dude. The jangle of "Whenever We're Together" harkens the Searchers' Sire Reunion years from 1979/80 and more than two other songs land in the valley of the lost greatness of the Records.

"Past and Present" (an apt and accurate title if there ever was one) was a solid, pleasing listen on the first pass but it's clear that the Spindles don't just plug in and land at 'good enough', they are going for 'no regrets' perfection. Indeed, it is on the following listens that you'll realize that these rotating pop spinsters have written a batch of carefully crafted, tuneful, long-lasting treasures (and toss in the covers of the Hollies and the Elvis Brothers and you got a dozen) that land this release in "Keepersville", which will allow you to return confidently to when you're in the mood for a taste of gripping, gentle jangle that twists in the winds as it soothes and salves your music loving soul.

The Spindles Past and Present

Rock and Roll Circus Records, Madrid, Spain

July 12, 2018

Pulling the listener into an album with a drum roll like the one at the beginning of Prisoner of War is not an easy task, nor is it within the reach of most common bands. Because the song hones in on the essence and heritage of bands like The Records, Blue Ash, or The Infidels, with top notch harmonies and a monumental sound from such a small chorus of voices, it manages to make your hair stand on end as if by magic.

The Chicago Spindles embody the Power Pop musical style that is lately and unfairly undervalued. Yes, that subgenre of rock music that a lot of current musicians seem to currently shy away from like cats caught in the rain.

Following Prisoner of War, the Spindles deliver a "fantabulous" cover of Look Through Any Window, first popularized by the historic Hollies, showing these guys know how to come up with something outstanding hidden under their arms. It is clear that these guys know perfectly well the ground they are walking on, the subjects they cover, and the musical sounds that are in their comfort zone. And it like this throughout every minute of this precious album properly entitled, Past and Present. That the shadow of the Beatles is very long is in evidence here and clear for any "popster" with two fingers in front of his eyes to see.

But the sound of Almost the Same and Young Heart also conjures up the sonic spectrums of one of my biggest weaknesses of youth - The Shoes. How many people today remember the essential and underappreciated authors of the immortal Present Tense? Like, you've never heard of that masterpiece from '79? Well, you're talking, my friend. Transparent voices, almost liquid and underground to transmit those feelings of anguish, surrender, and drama so typical of the age, accompanied by sharp-edged guitars.

But the Spindles are not exactly little boys and their veteran appearance presents them as an experienced and seasoned group trained in many battles of the bands in lost gambling dens of the immense North American West. I Want My Baby Back and Peace with the Past are new allegories similar to those of the Great Buildings of Danny Wilde and Phil Solem, before they transformed themselves into The Rembrandts. Beginning to be Your Friend would thrill the Gin Blossoms with those Americana/Jangle fragrances that convince and move me equally. Annette represents another decisive moment of the album, where “Power” imposes itself on “Pop”, after the titanic struggle between the rhythm section and electric guitars that are doubled in a final apotheosis. If I Fall in Love recalls the Searchers in their rejuvenated stage for the Sire label, when music’s New Wave resurrected them from their twilight decline. Santa Fe is a rocking adaptation of the original made by the Spindles' friends, the Elvis Brothers, who also personally support the band by playing on several of the album’s tracks.

It is clear that albums like Past and Present and their beautiful graphic design do not overtly pursue commercial ambition, nor go beyond the very healthy intention of creating excitement for the rapidly shrinking audience of guitar/pop fans to enjoy. But the latter is achieved 100% with these twelve pearls that shine like twelve suns. Ideal songs for the listener to try to hum along to. Melodies written for perfect vocal choruses like those of Lennon and McCartney, while playing air guitar with your invisible Rickenbacker, without missing a single note. I would miss more. Past and Present drinks and makes us drink from the fountain of eternal youth. Bravo for the Spindles and their "labour of love.” Mission accomplished.