The Mighty Lemon Drops Happy Head Sire, 1986 amazon

Somewhere around 1996 my then-girlfriend told me about a show she had seen back in eighties, and having drinks with the performers after their set. The name of the band, the Mighty Lemon Drops, meant absolutely nothing to me and only filled my brain with memories of Lemonheads candy from my youth. I bet you thought i was going to say "memories of the Lemonheads", but at that point Evan Dando and co. were also mostly foreign to me, save "It's A Shame About Ray" and "Mrs. Robinson". Anyway, i was encouraged to check them out as an underappreciated gem of the post-punk era. Their 1986 debut album Happy Head, rereleased with the 1987 EP Out Of Hand tacked on the end, is still in press so it wasn't too difficult to secure. To sum up, the Mighty Lemon Drops are what i would aspire to be as a musician. I'm painfully aware that i'm not the most technically gifted guitarist, or the most innovative songwriter, but there's a lot to be said for simple, effective songs, delivering a succinct emotion with fervent energy. Take "All the Way", which opens with a jangly guitar riff over a five note bass line. Paul Marsh's vocals enter in harmony with the bass ... all the things that hold me down, hold me tight day by day, time for me to turn around, things are getting in my way. You push the door, but the key don't fit, can take no more of this fucking shit. At which point the guitars and drums cut loose in a furious burst of energy, eventually settling into the lull of the next verse. Other tracks reflect more pop sensibilities, like the bouncy "My Biggest Thrill", but in their debut the Lemon Drops focus more on energy than the hook-laden (but equally effective) approach of cousins the Primitives. The addition of Out of Hand is a real treat, featuring the symphonic title track that recalls such Echo & the Bunnymen classics as "Silver". In addition, the EP contains an excellent cover of the 13th Floor Elevators' gem "Splash 1" and live versions of several Happy Head songs. The Mighty Lemon Drops' success would peak (and then rapidly decline) with their 1988 followup album World Without End, but for me their star shone brightest with their intense introduction.

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