(Psych / Power / Pop) The New Jersey based powerpop juggernaut known as The Anderson Council will have you swearing you’re at the The Marquee Club in London’s Soho district, circa 1967, when you hear The Anderson Council’s freak-beat grooves and power chords. Their songs are often featured on Little Steven’s Underground Garage. Their new album, Assorted Colours, released on July 15th, is produced by Kurt Reil of The Grip Weeds, who dazzled the audience at last year’s HMF.
The Anderson Council creates music everyone can enjoy but music aficionados can fully appreciate. The band—made up of songwriter and lead vocalist Peter Horvath, guitarist Dave Whitehead, drummer Chris Ryan and bassist Christopher Rousseau—catches listeners with irresistible hooks and captivates them with intelligent layers of sound reminiscent of 60s and 70’s psych-rock and powerpop.
The Anderson Council creates a modern pop atmosphere infused with a strong dose of rock nostalgia, drawing upon its British Invasion idols to offer a rich, bright and buoyant sound. Early recordings by The Who and Pink Floyd figure in heavily to the band’s music—think My Generation and Piper at the Gates of Dawn. In fact, the band name refers to the other halves of Pink Floyd—Pink (Anderson) and Floyd (Council). Pete Townshend-esque guitar riffs play into songs like “Strawberry Smell,” vocal harmonies throughout the band’s catalog suggest The Hollies, and occasional threads of Eastern strings (in songs like “Hole in the Sky”) conjure The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood.” But the band brings a fresh take on these decades-old influences. Compared by Magnet magazine to The White Stripes and The Hives, The Council not only appeals to fans of rockers like The Kinks, but bands like The Jam, XTC, Elvis Costello & The Attractions and Sloan too.
Photos © Scott Friedlander
You can view their latest video here.
http://www.theandersoncouncil.org/