Power-pop & garage-punk get hitched! Led by singer/guitarist/songwriter Evan Foster & keyboardist Nick C. Seattle band the Boss Martians release their fifth album, The Set-Up. Musick Recordings. 2003. Album Description
I first saw Boss Martians live at a festival 2-3 years ago, and they totally blew the other bands away! Great power/pop/punk attitude. Think Cheap Trick on steroids with some Elvis Costello/Replacements/Paybacks in the mix. Great songwriting and Evan Foster is a SHREDDER on guitar. Top to Bottom this is slightly more solid than their previous effort, "Making the Rounds", but I'd give Making the Rounds a slight nod as the best songs are stronger. All in all a GREAT band that's flying just slightly under the radar thought probably not for long. I hear they're in the studio putting together a new album now (Feb 06).
February 9, 2006Comparisons with Cheap Trick are very apt; I doubt I've heard a previous band THIS loud who were also so REFINED-- and MELODIC. So what's Rick Nielsen done good in the last 15 years??? Move over-- Evan Foster's here now!!
This is-- depending on your POV-- either the 8th (or 9th) Boss Martians album, OR the 3rd Mystery Action album (certainly the near-complete shift in style from hot-rod-&-surf to power pop started on HERE'S TO ANOTHER YEAR). The tone, and the VOLUME, on display here is so consistent (not quite monotonous) that this is taking a bit to digest and grow on me. However, there's ALREADY a few songs that are becoming fast favorites for me-- among them "I Wanna be Your Addiction", "Walk Away" and "I Am Your Radio" (picked as "Coolest song of the year 2003" by the listeners of Little Steven's nationally syndicated radio show The Underground Garage). It's a sure sign of how screwed up the music biz is when stuff THIS good isn't ALLOWED to be played on most stations!!!
With the variety of styles the BM have hit over the last decade, I woudn't mind seeing another shift on Evan's next project. In the meantime, check out the Link Wray tribute, GUITAR ACE, on which he contributes 3 covers of wildly varying styles, including an astonishing version of "Fire And Brimstone", which I like even MORE than anything here! (Meanwhile, my favorite BM album, LOCKDOWN PARTY, is still only available as an import LP from Italy. I've already had to make my own CD copy, fans should nag his label to do an official version!) March 3, 2004
 |  | Best "Unknown" Band I've Found |  |
Words cannot describe how fantastic this CD is. I first heard these guys at 2 in the morning on our local classic rock station, and I've been hooked ever since. People say the Strokes and White Stripes are 'saving rock and roll', and while that may be true (I'm a fan of them as well), the Boss Martians just have such a pure sound that's impossible to dislike. If you are even the most casual fan of the classic rock sound, you have to get this album. I think the other review says it best, these songs WILL cheer you up on a rainy day.
March 2, 2004The Boss Martians have been great at everything they've done. From "surf" to "garage" to just plain rock, these guys know how it's done. Great hooks, great songs, great band. Look for these guys to go FAR very soon. I've seen these guys live tons of times and trust me...THEY ARE ROCK AND ROLL!
January 30, 2004| | | unbelievable---check these guys out | |
OK, if you're reading this, you must have some idea of what the Martians sound like, sort of surf rock meets Cheap Trick. I'm here to tell you that they sound even better than that. They sound like the feeling you get when you're about to ask that cute girl across the room for her phone number. They sound like fireworks in July. They sound like a crescent moon hanging over a lagoon in Venice on a warm Saturday night. They're one of the best damn live bands I've ever seen.
The CD is a blueprint---these guys pump a ton of life and muscle into each show they play, especially "Walk Away" and "I Am Your Radio". What stands out to me is the Martians' increasing lyric accomplishment; songs like "Angela" and "Vows" are packed with enough clever turns and internal rhymes that they could pass as Sondheim songs.
So take a chance and get happy with the Martians. Because that's what will happen, you'll pop this in your car in the morning to get going before work, you'll pop it in on the way home to be cheered up after a bad day. And catch them live too! December 2, 2003
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