THINK LIKE A KEY MUSIC

With The Poppermost, Scotland's Joe Kane reminds us of a time when the world shook to the giddy monophonic thud of Merseybeat, when Dansettes ruled and desert boots were in style, and an MP3 was Harold Wilson and a couple of his Westminster mates out on the razz down Carnaby Street. This Glasgow-based troubadour has "gone the whole hog by recording his own music so in thrall to his idols as to be genuine rather than pastiche," utilizing an array of FAB instruments, microphones and recording techniques in his own 'Fabbey Road' studio. Hits To Spare is "short and sweet, written and laid down just as they used to make 'em," featuring "compellingly robust material" like the fab "Can't Take That Away," infectious "Egg and Chips," and the heartfelt "Cry For Another." Unlike The Rutles, Kane doesn't attempt to ape the moptops' entire career, preferring instead to concentrate on the early times from The Cavern days to Help! The result is "a welcome barrage of total fun, brimming over with delightfully infectious sounds of toppermost, Poppermost quality."