The Click Five

Greetings From Imrie House - (Lava Records)

If The Click Five reminds you of Fountains Of Wayne, then you have good ears my friend. But if The Click Five also strikes you as a poor man’s Fountains, however, then you have equally good taste as well. These shared values are hardly coincidental, because the Fountain’s Adam Schlesinger penned “Just the Girl” here, and also co-wrote “I’ll Take My Chances.” The Click Five plays highly melodic pop-rock, which explores familiar boy/girl relationship territory. Fountains essentially take this same route, and then spice up the journey with plenty of original wit, whereas The Click Five mainly plays it straight and predictable. So after a while, Greetings From Imrie House begins to sound like a letter you’d swear you’ve already read someplace else before.

The Click Five’s greatest asset is its lead vocalist, Eric Dill. Dill lends opener “Good Day” a breathy emotionalism. He also reaches high for perfectly placed falsetto notes during many tracks.  Dill mostly places his vocals over New Wave-inspired, power-pop guitar patterns. And speaking of power-pop, The Cars’ Elliott Easton provides one of this CD’s best guitar solos, which elevates “I’ll Take My Chances” above the rest. Clearly, The Cars is a primary influence on The Click Five. Although the band wisely keeps any unnecessary studio accoutrements to a minimum, one hears just a tad bit of Queenly excess during the chorus of “Angel to You (Devil to Me).”

 The Click Five’s songs are about as innocent as boy band yearnings, for the most part. Such teen-like romance is exemplified by the line, “Hey girl, I wanna catch your wave” from the track “Catch Your Wave.” Nevertheless, when Dill sings, “Come and meet me in the dark” during “Friday Night,” he’s obviously not talking about a simple game of hide ‘n seek. Instead, he’s bluntly seeking weekend sex. The group also covers one song here, “Lies,” which was a hit in the ‘80s for the Thompson Twins. Its version, not surprisingly, rocks out more than the original.

Although it’s a likeable and well-dressed quintet, The Click Five is just a little too much like The Wonders -- that fictional band from “That Thing You Do.” And wouldn’t you know it Schlesinger also participated in that project too. Simply put, The Click Five comes off as an excellent and accurate power-pop band facsimile, without actually being a great power-pop band. Let’s not forget: It’s not that thing you do, which makes you great. It’s that thing you are, instead.