Marc Valentine “Uncommon Side Effects”

Regular readers will be sick of us referencing how a band called the Last Great Dreamers should have been global superstars. Marc Valentine is the lead singer of that band and with his solo releases is continuing their mission to deliver some of the finest power pop you will ever hear.

It’s no surprise then when the album opens up with the cracking “NY UAP”. As you’d expect, it’s a fantastic power pop song with just the right amount of crunch to stop it being too sweet. Indeed if great pop songs delivered with a rock n roll edge are your cup of tea, then you are going to absolutely LOVE songs like “The Other side”  and “Tiger On Glass”.

What Marc does so brilliantly is write what appear to be relatively ‘simple’ pop songs and turn them into hugely anthemic tracks. A great example of that, is “High In The Underground” which is one of the catchiest songs that you will hear all year. Although, to be honest, we’re a sucker for any track that starts with a crunching guitar and a few wooo hoos!

As any decent song writer will tell you, crafting a finely tuned pop song is extremely hard to do. But with songs like “You Are a Jet” and “Temporary Buzz” it’s something that is delivered time after time on this album. Things enter a bit more of a mature sound with “The Loneliest Part” but it’s still driven by a glammy drum beat.

As we listened to this album and tracks like “Hanging On A Dream” and “When The Light Has Gone” we’re reminded of the days when every now and again a punk pop or power pop band would unexpectedly get picked up to appear on a Teen summer blockbuster movie. If there are any Directors/Producers reading this, you could pick any one of these ten tracks and get Marc Valentine the recognition he deserves. They’d certainly be right up James Gunn’s street!

We loved Marc’s last album but this one is bigger, brighter, better. It may have helped that we gave it a first listen on one of the first sunny spring days of the year, but we reckon this album would have brightened up any day. In a world full of crap and stress, this album is a simple reminder of how good music can make everything seem a little better. If you need a bit of joy in your life then this album is a must buy.