Frisbie: The Subversive Sounds Of Love

Chicago's Frisbie used to open for Marshall Crenshaw and the reunited Big Star, and it's pretty clear that the band happily stuck around for the shows after they were done. That's not to say Frisbie merely pays tribute to its power-pop forebears on The Subversive Sounds Of Love, but it is the sound of a group that's aware of the value in being part of a tradition. From the Big Star-isms of "Martha" to the Matthew Sweet vocals of "To See And Be Seen," Frisbie reveals itself as conversant with the great pop tradition. Just as importantly, it seems interested in moving that tradition forward through inventive instrumentation and clever song structures. That's not immediately evident the first time through The Subversive Sounds Of Love, an album whose most immediately striking quality is its sheer catchiness. Perhaps taking its cue from Cheap Trick, which pulled the stunt twice, Frisbie opens the album with an introduction and call-to-arms, "Let's Get Started," that perfectly sets the mood for the album to come. It's followed by two equally memorable songs, the catchy "Polyanna" and the mournful, gorgeous "Shine." If Frisbie has an Achilles' heel, it's that it has a better handle on pop than power: The crunching guitars of "Paid In Kind" and "Wrecking Ball" don't so much bolster the songs as clutter them. But that's a minor complaint to direct at an album so loaded with immediate pleasures, and so talent-laden that you can't help but hear the promise of pleasures to come.