Search - Primary 5 :: Go

Fannies Look Here...

Reggie Martinez | Fargo, ND United States | 03/13/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being a Teenage Fanclub fanatic has been tough, since the band that can be argued as to have been the best, most consistantly excellent on record over the past two decades has only released seven proper albums over the last 17 years. The Primary 5, led by former Fanclub drummer Paul Quinn, have thankfully filled a much needed gap for people not only like myself, but for those who pine for classicst modern pop albums that don't need to resort to flash or pretention to entertain and enlighten. Their debut, 2004's North Pole, was the torch bearer to the Fannies timeless power pop and the best pure pop record of that year. It was shockingly good, and it was apparent that his time drumming for Blake, Love and McGinley on the TF classics "Grand Prix", "Songs From Northern Britain", and "Howdy" prepared Quinn to unload his own brand of sparkling guitar pop in the same vein.



With that, Primary 5 can again claim the title of best pure pop record of the year with 'Go'. Nearly every song is a gem, and perfect for the emerging Spring ahead. To list highlights is a bit futile, so look at the songlist above and make your pick (although the 1-2-3 opening shots of "Off Course", "2 A.M.", and "Sunsets" is a good place to look). All 35 minutes of 'Go' are a godsend to anyone in love with the finest melodies music has had to offer the world in the past 40 years, from the Beatles to the Byrds to Buffalo Springfield to Big Star right on through to the Fannies themselves. This is an album for anyone who thought that it was impossible to make simple, uncloying guitar rock in the 21st century.



Sadly, this is a record whose music is most likely to be met with the same fate as that of its leader's former outfit: Too simple to be commercialized, yet surely to develop the type of cult that begs the question as to why music this perfect never finds its way onto the garbage dump that is modern American radio, a place where it is needed the most.



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Pop Nirvana

K1004 | Cleveland, OH | 05/06/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Go! is as close to perfect as I think a pop album can get. Paul Quinn and company cover the spectrum of sound and emotion on this exquisitely produced 2007 release. This album will make you reminisce about the best songs by The Byrds, The Raspberries, and the Beach Boys, along with more modern artists such as Luna and Yo La Tengo. And certainly, you hear the pop sensibilities of Teenage Fanclub here, but TP5 is so much more than an offshoot off TF, they own this sound in a unique and wonderful way. Quinn's vocals are stunningly good on numbers like Window Shopping and 2 A.M., while a track like Sunsets captures a place and a feeling in a way that few songs can. Lyrically, these are simple, wistful, lazy love songs that perfectly fit the mood of the music. The melody of the opening track Off Course will be caught in your head for days on end. Quite simply, it's hard for me to overstate how good The Primary 5 are on this album."