Bikeride
Summer Winners/Summer Losers
A Hidden Agenda/Parasol
Summer can be clearly discerned in the glistening bounce, roll, and shake of these songs. Bikeride consistently deliver blissfully golden pop filled with Beach Boys-inspired melodies and punctuated by the appropriate amounts of horns, organ, and assorted spices. Sometimes spare and sometimes full, they have a knack for knowing just what a song needs to make it special without overdoing it. For example, the harmonica and flute in •Meghan• make all the difference. Simple and sweet yet with a distinctive accent, like the ukulele-based cover of •Our Lips Are Sealed.• This is a collection of Bikeride songs not found on their full-length, culled instead from their limited ten-inch EPs, their seven-inch, and compilation appearances, along with a previously unreleased one to start things off. Especially cute are the ones written as Christmas presents, •Meghan,• •Shawna,• and •Leah and Nikki.• Nineteen wonderfully crafted pop gems perfect for hammocks and tea.
A Hidden Agenda/Parasol, 905 S. Lynn St., Urbana, IL 61801, http://www.parasol.com
