When I first wrote about the Office (no not the UK/US tv show!) was back in early August, and after that i’ve gotten several emails to repost the mp3s. I didn’t want to at first but considering i’m still listening to this album, and the fact that a lot more people read us now as opposed to months ago; I figured it was a good idea to go ahead and do this. Seriously, if you haven’t heard this band yet than do yourself a favor and listen to these songs. I was reading over what I had written before and it was a pretty terrible review. I had only heard a few tracks at that time, but since then I managed to get a copy of the album for myself. So basically i’m just gonna go ahead and rewrite this because Q&A, despite being self-released, is one of the most polished recordings of pop songs i’ve heard all year. Also realize that this was technically released in 2005 I might add.
Interesting story about how I first stumbled upon this quintet from Chicago. I usually like to check out profiles of people who add us on Myspace, so a few months ago I was looking at someone’s profile (person will remain nameless) and came across this song that I found extremely catchy. After a while I found myself continuously refreshing the page to listen to the song over and over again. It was starting to become ridiculous so i messaged the person asking what the name of this song was before I went crazy. The song in question was called “Wound Up” off their second self-released album Q&A. I’ve been in love with that track for months now as it’s just pop perfection to my ears. I don’t know how many times driving to and from work that i’ve belted out that chorus Let’s go to the beach tonight | With a bottle of wine….. It’s just incredibly infectious.
From that very first track, this album doesn’t let up under any circumstances. There are maybe a couple of tracks that feel out of place, but beginning to end it delivers. A lot of that credit should be given to lead singer Scott Masson as he manages to bang out some of the juiciest hooks and melodies for you to sink your teeth into. Add to that some lovely boy/girl harmonies, along with the pulsating/new wave-ish guitar work of Tom Smith and my friends you have got yourself songs that will stay planted in your memory for weeks upon months.
Since i’m writing about them again, I went to catch up on some of the latest news via their website. There’s plenty of great news as they announced their official signing with Scratchie Records (New Line Records), an independent label owned by former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha (but we already knew that right?). With that news and recently performing at CMJ, they are definitely poised to make a huge splash with their first release on the new label coming in 2007. Sadly if you want to get a hold of Q&A for yourself, the website says they are no longer repressing copies of the album. So get to know them now (myspace) and start loving these tracks as I have a feeling they’re gonna be a band to keep your eye on in the upcoming year.
Office | Q&A
Office | “Wound Up”
Office | “The Big Band Jump!”
Office | “Ordinary Offices, Extraordinary Proposals”
Office | “Dominos”
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