CD review: The Yearbooks - 'Have a Great Summer'

November 7, 4:24 PMChicago Rock Music ExaminerFrank Krolicki

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Photo by Eddie O'Keefe

Indie five piece The Yearbooks introduced themselves earlier this year with a single track, "Season of Love," a helping of summery pop strong enough to pinpoint them as an up-and-coming band to watch. Now, the Chicagoans have officially released the song alongside five others in the form of their debut EP, Have a Great Summer. "Season of Love" was solid on its own, but the six song collection is downright impressive. Finding a middle ground between old school power pop and modern day, Strokes-inspired indie rock, The Yearbooks never miss a beat on Have a Great Summer, with song after song that anyone even remotely into catchy guitar pop would be hard pressed not to love. None of the songs fall short, but particularly infectious standouts include opener "She Did It With Her Eyes," "Safe in LA" (which features possibly the strongest chorus on the disc) and the nostalgic "Time Machine." In addition to the melodies, the spiky guitar work of Eric Hehr and Billy Friel stand out, as do the clear, clean vocals of Sars Flannery (although the singer does occasionally veer into throaty, Julian Casablancas-esque territory, particularly on "Stranger of the Night"). There are more than a few indie bands currently basing their sound on a similar formula, but very few are doing it half as good as The Yearbooks have prove they can on their debut.

Have a Great Summer is available for download via iTunes and Amazon MP3.

The band also recently filmed an appropriately summery music video for "Season of Love," viewable below.