The 1959 Hat Co - Awesome Sneakers.

It's always a delight to recieve something in the post from Weepop records, their releases are beautifully packaged and the pedigree of the label (they've released stuff by The Just Joans, Allo Darlin' Transmittens amongst others) means that expectations are always pretty high for anything new. That was the case with this new E.P from The 1959 Hat Co, and I was not disappointed.

The band themselves were previously known as 'the hat company' and hail from various areas of the US (Detroit, Toledo Seattle and Ohio if you're interested) and are described as having influences ranging from Brain Wilson and Phil Spector through Morricone to reach Aztec Camera and the Jesus and Mary Chain. This is no doubt accurate, but there's plenty more to the band then that.

The EP could not be anymore summery if it came with shorts and an ice-cream, it's arrived at the perfect time of year, and is a joy, but you could listen to it at any time of the year and still have a smile on your face.

First track 'Awesome Sneakers' kicks off with a fine jangly guitar line. The verse with it's backing girl harmonies and sweet male vocals is part Smittens, part Beach Boys and contains all the joy you'd imagine a pairing like that would do. A love song about being shy to be around someone (whilst the harmony background vocal goes "you're so cute, you're so cute" it's like a bolt of sunshine. Pure, unadulterated pop joy. You can listen to this one yourself over HERE.

Second track 'Amber Brown Assembly Line' is a little different, the opening vocals on this one do indeed evoke the black spirit of The Jesus and Mary Chain and when the horns kick in you could be standing on a dusty street in the old west. Then the chorus comes in as light and airy as a breeze through a floral garden. It's a lovely, yearning thing.

Final track 'Midst Of Seasons' is a happy, easy going guitar tune with a sense of humour, starting as it does with a line about losing swimming trunks. It's almost vaudevillian in it's jauntiness and again it evokes nothing so much as endless summer days.

The 1959 Hat Co, has managed to grab the essence of summer and press it into 9 minutes of perfect pop. Far more then just the influnces stated at the beginning, it's 3 songs you'll have on constant rotation whilst driving between festivals in the summer, and yet it's sweet and tender enough to keep you warm and cosy when the colder part of the year drifts in. You can get it from Weepop now, and you really, really should.

PS, whilst we're on the subject Weepop are releasing a Stars of Aviation EP next week, and there's a song to here from that HERE. It's great too.