The Resonars is the solo project of Arizona's Matt Rendon, playing and recording everything himself on this single from Trouble in Mind's Solo Series. It's a huge, dense pop psyche sound that the likes of Jeffrey Novak and White Fence have been pursuing with equally unique contemporary twists and results. Reaching way back into those '60s garage sounds and gleaming songwriting to recreate the spirit of that complex layered sound all by himself, which like Adam Widener's single, takes this into an entirely new level of genius. A really unbelievable EP of four tracks of catchy super pop that is more than just a taste of what Matt is capable of.
"Long Long Thoughts" launches right into a heavy vocal harmony, doubling up the la la la's in spectacular fashion over the quick bopper tempo of high hat and bass. The big start runs into a pure british invasion rock blown out sound, picked rhythm guitar and handclaps, building those chord changes quick up the scale. It's a combination of that sweet harmony and bubblegum garage pop melody with a harder intense edge that is rooted completely in The Moody Blues, Troggs and of course, as Matt would attest, The Who. It's so completely dead on in tone and style that comes from absorbing an insane amount of this era. So unapologetically bubbly and optimistic, he's building on those epic formula's while paying sincere homage to them at the same time. Shooting up the charts and playing top of the pops.
"Sit Right Down" breaks out that acoustic as the foundation for more big time vocal harmonies which this era was just as much known for as the rock, slightly psych but grabbing right on to this see saw rhythm. It's just the intro for the classic rock to start, jumping a few years forward in evolution, picking up that shaker and getting right down with that dirtier warm guitar tones, sliding this into T Rex territory. He's belting out these sugary lyrics in a high register, impossibly hitting those sweet spots in any harmony and switching into this heavier ricked out section. It's scary.
B-Side's "Paint My Window Green" starts off with Matt's signature doubled up harmonies right over the lyric on this one. Leading to a great back and forth, singing with himself as lead and the rest of the band taking the alternate verses. It's a dizzying display of technical psych pop, punchy chords, ever reaching bass meanderings, with a real handle on this inherently dark slant of the whole genre with this title chorus. There's even time for a bluesy solo in between the dense harmonies.
Finally "Stumbling on Stones" takes that kind of honkeytonk ramshackle blues approach to this one for a brief intro before the sweeping harmonies take over, bopping around as heavily as everything across this single. An impressive pace to keep up, with a few false stops that don't even feel like he's shortchanging this piece, but he can't possibly keep this tempo up? Mindblowing take on an entire era, faithfully reinterpreted and executed. I would half believe you if this turned out to be an elaborate hoax of lost recordings.
On dark olive green vinyl in the signature Trouble in Mind sleeve,
get it from TIM who says:
Is it possible that the energy and genius created by the entire membership of The Hollies, The Move and The Who could be embodied in one guy living in Arizona? You just might start to believe it after giving this 7-inch a spin. Matt Rendon is the one man hit machine behind the Resonars, writing & recording every instrument & singing every note all by his lonesome. This 4-song EP (and the third installment in our "Solo Series") represents his first collection of new material in almost three years, after releases on Get Hip, Star Time & Burger Records, focusing his paisley-tinted vision with one ear in the past & his eyes on the future.
These tracks hit the sweet-spot between the bittersweet harmonies you love about "Evolution" era Allan Clarke and Graham Nash with the triumphant guitar and off-the-chain drum fills of a "Who Sell Out"-era Pete Townshend and Keith Moon. You’ll be hooked from the first La’s of "Long Long Thoughts" till the last faded notes of "Stumbling On Stones." HOO BOY, you’re going to need a new needle after you get through with this one - sorry ‘bout that.
Here's that first track from the single:
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