Snappy Little Numbers (2023)
This 7" is volume number one of a one hundred percent confirmed monthly series where The Drolls are writing songs in the style of other bands. The first fifty of them come with a nifty, hand crafted Drolls 45 adapter. Very swank. On this record itself we have two bands that I'm not sure I envisioned being paired together, but perhaps that's my lack of imagination showing. MC5 and Guided By Voices are the subjects for volume one and The Drolls have delivered two songs that each band would be proud to call their own.
The MC5 inspired song is "Kick Out The Jammies," a profanity laced ode to not going out, staying home and being comfortable. It's remarkable how The Drolls captured the spirit of those old MC5 songs on this. There's the same sort of heavy, garage-influenced guitar riffing, a pounding, propulsive rhythm section and an appropriately screeching guitar solo tightly packaged into a sub-three minute song. Oh, and it's about pajamas and not wanting to leave the house. Perfect.
On the B side we have "I am a Data Scientist," which is meant to evoke the feelings of listening to a Guided By Voices song. Now, there are approximately five hundred thousand Guided By Voices songs I have not heard, so I'm not exactly sure where in the catalog they are pulling this particular influence from, but this does sound closer to a traditional Drolls song. It's on the slower side of the spectrum, with maybe "Before The Fall" being the song I could come the closest to comparing it with, but "I am a Data Scientist" is still has a unique enough sound that you can tell the band is attempting something different. Of the two songs, this is the one I personally like the best.
This was a fun record and luckily the band and label have made it very clear that this is the first of many years worth of 7"s paying homage to various bands. There's absolutely no ambiguity whatsoever that every single month for the foreseeable future there will definitely be a new Drolls 7" released in this same vein. There is no chance whatsoever that this is a one time release. Promise. While no one has told me personally, I assume that June's volume two will feature songs in the style of Boston and Gorilla Biscuits. I'm also fairly certain that July will pay tribute to the musical stylings of The Locust and Wang Chung. I don't know about you, but I'm counting the seconds until those records are released. I've started counting now.
The Drolls - Novelty Rock Monthly Singles Club, Vol. One:
https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/novelty-rock-monthly-singles-club-vol-one
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