slumberland records

keeping it foolish since 1989

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Who can decipher the true origins of Neverever? Some say it started on the roadside in Malibu when a truck driver named Eric Fisher and his childhood buddy, Shaun Puklavetz, picked up Joe Meek's great niece and nephew, Jihae and Wallace. Others believe that it began a year earlier when Neverever's lost classic Angelic Swells was released on legendary pop mogul, Mike Schulman's, Slumberland Records.

Whichever you choose to put faith in, it was after consulting their book of Sacred Symbols of the Ancients, that Wallace and Jihae realized Eric and Shaun's rhythmical bond was most likely destined to be the missing piece of their puzzle. A mutual appreciation for Dave Hill (he of Slade fame)'s haircut soon sealed the deal one night after practice in Shaun's hot-tub.

The four began hallucinating endlessly about writing songs that could fill the void between one's love for Sandy Salisbury's "Do Unto Others" and the other's for Comet Gain's Casino Classics. These visions began to slowly creep across Los Angeles stages like a purple smoke bomb engulfing. Shortly thereafter, crowds caught on and gaggles of girls and boys began flocking to their shows in fear that the flames which burned would someday descend back into technicolor smoke.

Shake-A-Baby is that technicolor smoke turned to solid vinyl. The band says it best: "The EP is loosely about the likes of child brides and sugar empire heirs either reluctantly growing up or simply choosing not to. Clinging to pre-teen and adolescent freedoms, Miss Teen Californian girlfriends, carefree trips, and dream-like loves, whether the changing world around them allows it or not. Some influences include the Raspberries, Dwight Twilley and Phil Seymour, ELO, Kim Fowley, Fleetwood Mac, Big Star, Alvin Stardust, Sandy Salisbury."

From the couples' dance swoon of "Baby Oil And Iodine" to the latin-tinged glam-pop of "Mexicoco," we see the newly revitalized Neverever cooking up a heady mix of classic power-pop styles. "Bunker Spreckles" is a swinging little tune, featuring a typically catchy vocal melody from Jihae and a stick-in-your-head keyboard line. "Venus" slows the tempo down for a twangy slice of doo-wop pop, while "Wedding Day" is a rambunctious power-pop gem that would slot in nicely on either of the first few Blondie albums.

Cut from the same classicist pop cloth at their debut album, on Shake-A-Baby Neverever sharpen their tunes, hone their hooks and brighten their palette.