This Chicago band could almost be a Go-Betweens tribute band, they have the same exact feel as that clever, loose limbed Aussie act. With guitarist/songwriter Larry O. Dean's plaintive vocals, Derek Walvoord's viola soaring in the background and the backup harmonies of Pamela Richardson, Jeff Greaves (also on drums) and Tim Ferguson (also on bass), their folky chamber rock songs have a similar depth of feeling. They easily mix strings sections with edgy abrasive guitar parts and both factions are better off for it. Leader Dean is a prolific type and has also spent time as a member of the Fussbudgets, Malcontent and Post Office as well as being a published author, poet and comic book artist. The Me Decade is one ego trip that you should definitely take. THE BIG TAKEOVER
Pretty melodies and Americana sounding pop with the kind of earnest nasal voice that wins nerdy fan loyalty. The Me Decade should be able to draw fans of Bloodshot Records and Weezer and Violent Femmes and I hope they do. ROCTOBER
Gentrification Is Theft is a smooth blend of pop-rock music inflected with folk melodies. The album is filled with reflective lyrics with hints of sarcasm and a generational narcissism.
"The Boy Who Fell Too Far from the Tree" is a soft melodious mix of pop, folk and rock. "The Rich Are Different" and "They Tore Up the Street Where the Street Used to Be" showcases the gentle sarcasm of Larry O. Dean's songwriting talent. Dean takes everyday situations and molds them into reflective musings on "Not Enough Hours in the Day" and "I Always Wake up Remembering."
While the well thought out lyrics are the jewel on the album, vocalist Pam Richardson really stands out on the tracks. Her effortless vocals soften the songs as does the addition of musician Chad Gifford's violin and Derek Walvoord's viola. Gentrification Is Theft is filled with clear vocals and intriguing lyrics. The album almost sounds like a live performance and you feel as if you are listening to the group performing in a coffeehouse. The Me Decade is a unique and intelligent addition to the music industry at a time when many cookie cutter singers and bands top the charts. Gentrification Is Theft is a deep and contemplative album that will leave you thinking...and wanting more. Grade: A-. THE MICHIGAN TIMES
Larry O. Dean has some of the same wry, heartland, closed mouth delivery that Stan Ridgway captivated a cult audience with in Wall of Voodoo. This self-produced CD is very well done with correct presence from the vocalist (Dean) and tasteful addition of strings. The guitars are very distorted and with the plain vocal delivery the comparison can be made to Velvet Underground ("Not Enough Hours in the Day"). THE MUSIC KORNER
Artist/poet/singer/songwriter Larry O. Dean has carved quite an impressive swath from his earliest days in Flint, Michigan straight on via San Francisco to his current stand as one of Chicago's most formidable all-round talents. And The Me Decade is but the latest, and from the sounds of Gentrification Is Theft, most accomplished of all his musical vehicles to date.
The sprightly "The Boy Who Fell Too Far from the Tree" immediately sets a musical tone for fifty minutes to follow, with Pamela Richardson's back-up vocals and Derek Walvoord's viola providing delightfully loopy Rolling Thunder accompaniment to Larry's Lou Reed-lite approach. The Zimmer Man's inimitable style is tapped as well lyrically throughout, with an impressively adept attention to story-telling detail most obvious in "Not Enough Hours in the Day" ("I took off my shoes and my socks, put on my flip-flops"), the "My City Was Gone" lament "They Tore Up the Street Where the Street Used to Be," and to greatest effect on the boldly yuppie-bashing broadside "The Rich Are Different" (blatantly rhyming "cruise ships" with "computer chips," f'rinstance). Yes, Larry's journalist chops have been put to quite the wise use in this regard.
Musically, The Me Decade plays it pretty straight down the main highway for the entire trip, stylistically speaking, with a quite rooty approach -- "existentialist Americana-alt-pop," it's best labeled -- which varies only slightly from one song to the next (the lone, most effective exception being the afore-mentioned "The Rich Are Different," where Larry and Pamela alone are featured). It's doubtful that Gentrification's dozen tracks would sound much different at all when performed live on stage -- and there's certainly nothing wrong with that, is there? Still, Larry's guitar is surely capable of more than the only two castings (crisp acoustic or mangy electric) heard throughout, and offering bassist Tim Ferguson or drummer Jeff Greaves a lead vocal or two would've provided a nice scenic sideroad en route, methinks.
Still, with standouts such as "I Always Wake Up Remembering" (picture, if you can, Bernard Herrmann scoring a Left Banke b-side), the stellar "La Bamba" redux which drives "Icing on the Cake," and even a quirkful remake of "Echo Beach" to boot, believe it or not, The Me Decade more than capably demonstrate their abilities in all musical areas explored. And while hardly setting any stylistic pigeonholes on fire, what they have produced can stand proudly on any east Greenwich Village hoot night I've ever been a party to. ROCK BEAT INTERNATIONAL
Larry O. Dean, songwriting and singing force behind The Me Decade, leads his latest combo into territories that reflect the lo-fi college rock of the mid-eighties. Where his previous group's effort, Post Office, favored a tight, punchy pop sound, The Me Decade goes for something more fluid and bouncy. With lots of viola too! To give you reference point, the sole cover of "Echo Beach" from Martha & The Muffins is here in spirit but they give it a treatment that's more in line with the edgy and jangly sounds of Athens, GA or North Carolina circa '83. Gentrification Is Theft maintains a carefree feel from song to song and is attractively tinged with urgency and presence through its sparse and live production qualities. MILES OF MUSIC
In case you're wondering, 'gentrification' is the 'process by which a street poor people used to live in is changed when people with more money go to live there.' The fact that poet Larry O. Dean is fronting this neo Americana project band then comes as little surprise. In that respect, cerebral country rock is probably the most simplified description I could muster to convey the sound of The Me Decade. The songs on Gentrification contain a touch of classical music with the prominent inclusion of a mini-string section courtesy of Derek Walvoord which lend to poignant roots rock material like the sad "Love Aloud," raucous "Hard Goodbyes," melancholy "I Always Wake Up Remembering" and the feisty "Left It All Behind" a distinctive flavor. POWER OF POP
The Me Decade is not about me. Or you. It's about some talented musicians putting together one of the finer local albums of late, in Gentrification Is Theft. From the first blasting track to the mellower epilogue, this combination of songs blends violins, guitars, trumpets, and a charismatic leader. Highlights include "Icing on the Cake," a strong middle track, and the softer "Looking for a Spark." ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER
The Me Decade's Gentrification Is Theft is an ear-pleasing amalgamation of roots, pop, rock and country, highlighted by Larry O. Dean's nasally lead vocals (imagine Willie Nelson without the pathos). Dean is also a member of Post Office, whose Fables in Slang is even better in a twisted, Big Star goes alt-country way. RAVE ON!
Smacks of an affection for The Go-Betweens' sophisticated, wry pop music. CHAMPAIGN-URBANA CITY VIEW
The Me Decade is poet/rock scribe Larry O. Dean's rock vessel, and Gentrification Is Theft serves up a convincing blend of jangly, neo-baroque pop of a dB's, Ray Davies and Yo La Tengo design. SHAKE SOME ACTION
Imagine Michael Stipe as the songwriter and singer for Credence Clearwater Revival. Scares you, doesn't it? Well, in Chicago, not Athens or the swamp, Larry O. Dean leads this five-piece band called The Me Decade, and that's my take on what they sound like.
What distinguishes The Me Decade from a thousand (well, many) other rock bands is the sound of the viola, as played by Derek Walvoord. That sound evokes memories of Dylan's Desire album and the pleniful violin of Scarlett Rivera. That could seem out of place, but it works great. Dean deserves credit for balancing his music far enough into the mainstream to be accessible and far enough out of it to be a bit different.
Lyrically, Dean has his clever moments and is brave enough to reveal himself (or someone else) with lines like, "if I wasn't so damn sensitive / I might be able to live / in a world of stabbed backs / and minor heart attacks." Strange as it may seem, when you hear that it sounds good. He sings of reflection in the face of change, with "They Tore Up the Street Where the Street Used to Be." This includes lines like, "I can't remember / from day to day / what's around the corner / and what's been taken away" and "Memories are all I have left / gentrification is theft." LOUISVILLE MUSIC NEWS
This Chicago quintet benefits greatly from Larry O. Dean's songwriting skills. Gentrification Is Theft contains twelve mostly mid-tempo tunes that will attract fans of Girls Say Yes and It's A Beautiful Day. The Windy City should be glad to have The Me Decade among its musical ranks. AMPLIFIER
The Me Decade is an enigmatic Chicago five-piece combo fronted by scene veteran, singer-songwriter Larry O. Dean. Fresh off of Dean's latest solo album, Sir Slob, the backing band is ready to mark its "official" debut entitled Gentrification Is Theft which will be released in October on the indie label, Spade Kitty Records.
The fifty-minute disc is full of heady string arrangements and rock guitars, reminiscent of early XTC and Siamese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins. "Dawning on Your Face" is a splendid, sing along pop song with a refrain that threatens to stick with you throughout the day. "The Boy Who Fell Too Far from the Tree" is a vibrant opening tune, and "Echo Beach" driven, whereas "Looking for a Spark" is the moody and sad tale of growing old. All at once, Gentrification Is Theft feels like an anthem and something distinctly personal.
Co-produced and engineered by Mark Schwarz (Chamber Strings, Neko Case, Freakwater) the album may just emerge a sleeper to ascend the college charts. Dean has been working the windy city music scene since 1996 where he is called "one of the hardest working men in Chicago rock" (Home Pride Chicago). Prior to that, he cut his teeth both as a solo acoustic performer and front man for pop bands like The Fussbudgets and Malcontent in San Francisco. Not just a prolific musician, Dean is also an anthologized poet whose bibliography is as impressive as his discography. COSMIK DEBRIS
Chicagoan Larry O. Dean has gathered together another talented Windy City bunch – The Me Decade. This band's disc, Gentrification Is Theft, should be released soon. From a contemporary perspective, the band's songs sound like Russ Tolman and Girls Say Yes. On a more dated basis, one can also hear wisps of the mid-60s San Francisco mixed gender bands, Jefferson Airplane and It's A Beautiful Day. Whether the tunes feature strummy pop, straight-ahead rock, fuzzy amplification, psych/pop or guitar pop with strings, the twelve songs are all catchy enough to make this disc a worthy addition to your pop music library. FUFKIN.COM
Pretty melodies and Americana sounding pop with the kind of earnest nasal voice that wins nerdy fan loyalty. The Me Decade should be able to draw fans of Bloodshot Records and Weezer and Violent Femmes and I hope they do. ROCTOBER
Gentrification Is Theft is a smooth blend of pop-rock music inflected with folk melodies. The album is filled with reflective lyrics with hints of sarcasm and a generational narcissism.
"The Boy Who Fell Too Far from the Tree" is a soft melodious mix of pop, folk and rock. "The Rich Are Different" and "They Tore Up the Street Where the Street Used to Be" showcases the gentle sarcasm of Larry O. Dean's songwriting talent. Dean takes everyday situations and molds them into reflective musings on "Not Enough Hours in the Day" and "I Always Wake up Remembering."
While the well thought out lyrics are the jewel on the album, vocalist Pam Richardson really stands out on the tracks. Her effortless vocals soften the songs as does the addition of musician Chad Gifford's violin and Derek Walvoord's viola. Gentrification Is Theft is filled with clear vocals and intriguing lyrics. The album almost sounds like a live performance and you feel as if you are listening to the group performing in a coffeehouse. The Me Decade is a unique and intelligent addition to the music industry at a time when many cookie cutter singers and bands top the charts. Gentrification Is Theft is a deep and contemplative album that will leave you thinking...and wanting more. Grade: A-. THE MICHIGAN TIMES
Larry O. Dean has some of the same wry, heartland, closed mouth delivery that Stan Ridgway captivated a cult audience with in Wall of Voodoo. This self-produced CD is very well done with correct presence from the vocalist (Dean) and tasteful addition of strings. The guitars are very distorted and with the plain vocal delivery the comparison can be made to Velvet Underground ("Not Enough Hours in the Day"). THE MUSIC KORNER
Artist/poet/singer/songwriter Larry O. Dean has carved quite an impressive swath from his earliest days in Flint, Michigan straight on via San Francisco to his current stand as one of Chicago's most formidable all-round talents. And The Me Decade is but the latest, and from the sounds of Gentrification Is Theft, most accomplished of all his musical vehicles to date.
The sprightly "The Boy Who Fell Too Far from the Tree" immediately sets a musical tone for fifty minutes to follow, with Pamela Richardson's back-up vocals and Derek Walvoord's viola providing delightfully loopy Rolling Thunder accompaniment to Larry's Lou Reed-lite approach. The Zimmer Man's inimitable style is tapped as well lyrically throughout, with an impressively adept attention to story-telling detail most obvious in "Not Enough Hours in the Day" ("I took off my shoes and my socks, put on my flip-flops"), the "My City Was Gone" lament "They Tore Up the Street Where the Street Used to Be," and to greatest effect on the boldly yuppie-bashing broadside "The Rich Are Different" (blatantly rhyming "cruise ships" with "computer chips," f'rinstance). Yes, Larry's journalist chops have been put to quite the wise use in this regard.
Musically, The Me Decade plays it pretty straight down the main highway for the entire trip, stylistically speaking, with a quite rooty approach -- "existentialist Americana-alt-pop," it's best labeled -- which varies only slightly from one song to the next (the lone, most effective exception being the afore-mentioned "The Rich Are Different," where Larry and Pamela alone are featured). It's doubtful that Gentrification's dozen tracks would sound much different at all when performed live on stage -- and there's certainly nothing wrong with that, is there? Still, Larry's guitar is surely capable of more than the only two castings (crisp acoustic or mangy electric) heard throughout, and offering bassist Tim Ferguson or drummer Jeff Greaves a lead vocal or two would've provided a nice scenic sideroad en route, methinks.
Still, with standouts such as "I Always Wake Up Remembering" (picture, if you can, Bernard Herrmann scoring a Left Banke b-side), the stellar "La Bamba" redux which drives "Icing on the Cake," and even a quirkful remake of "Echo Beach" to boot, believe it or not, The Me Decade more than capably demonstrate their abilities in all musical areas explored. And while hardly setting any stylistic pigeonholes on fire, what they have produced can stand proudly on any east Greenwich Village hoot night I've ever been a party to. ROCK BEAT INTERNATIONAL
Larry O. Dean, songwriting and singing force behind The Me Decade, leads his latest combo into territories that reflect the lo-fi college rock of the mid-eighties. Where his previous group's effort, Post Office, favored a tight, punchy pop sound, The Me Decade goes for something more fluid and bouncy. With lots of viola too! To give you reference point, the sole cover of "Echo Beach" from Martha & The Muffins is here in spirit but they give it a treatment that's more in line with the edgy and jangly sounds of Athens, GA or North Carolina circa '83. Gentrification Is Theft maintains a carefree feel from song to song and is attractively tinged with urgency and presence through its sparse and live production qualities. MILES OF MUSIC
In case you're wondering, 'gentrification' is the 'process by which a street poor people used to live in is changed when people with more money go to live there.' The fact that poet Larry O. Dean is fronting this neo Americana project band then comes as little surprise. In that respect, cerebral country rock is probably the most simplified description I could muster to convey the sound of The Me Decade. The songs on Gentrification contain a touch of classical music with the prominent inclusion of a mini-string section courtesy of Derek Walvoord which lend to poignant roots rock material like the sad "Love Aloud," raucous "Hard Goodbyes," melancholy "I Always Wake Up Remembering" and the feisty "Left It All Behind" a distinctive flavor. POWER OF POP
The Me Decade is not about me. Or you. It's about some talented musicians putting together one of the finer local albums of late, in Gentrification Is Theft. From the first blasting track to the mellower epilogue, this combination of songs blends violins, guitars, trumpets, and a charismatic leader. Highlights include "Icing on the Cake," a strong middle track, and the softer "Looking for a Spark." ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER
The Me Decade's Gentrification Is Theft is an ear-pleasing amalgamation of roots, pop, rock and country, highlighted by Larry O. Dean's nasally lead vocals (imagine Willie Nelson without the pathos). Dean is also a member of Post Office, whose Fables in Slang is even better in a twisted, Big Star goes alt-country way. RAVE ON!
Smacks of an affection for The Go-Betweens' sophisticated, wry pop music. CHAMPAIGN-URBANA CITY VIEW
The Me Decade is poet/rock scribe Larry O. Dean's rock vessel, and Gentrification Is Theft serves up a convincing blend of jangly, neo-baroque pop of a dB's, Ray Davies and Yo La Tengo design. SHAKE SOME ACTION
Imagine Michael Stipe as the songwriter and singer for Credence Clearwater Revival. Scares you, doesn't it? Well, in Chicago, not Athens or the swamp, Larry O. Dean leads this five-piece band called The Me Decade, and that's my take on what they sound like.
What distinguishes The Me Decade from a thousand (well, many) other rock bands is the sound of the viola, as played by Derek Walvoord. That sound evokes memories of Dylan's Desire album and the pleniful violin of Scarlett Rivera. That could seem out of place, but it works great. Dean deserves credit for balancing his music far enough into the mainstream to be accessible and far enough out of it to be a bit different.
Lyrically, Dean has his clever moments and is brave enough to reveal himself (or someone else) with lines like, "if I wasn't so damn sensitive / I might be able to live / in a world of stabbed backs / and minor heart attacks." Strange as it may seem, when you hear that it sounds good. He sings of reflection in the face of change, with "They Tore Up the Street Where the Street Used to Be." This includes lines like, "I can't remember / from day to day / what's around the corner / and what's been taken away" and "Memories are all I have left / gentrification is theft." LOUISVILLE MUSIC NEWS
This Chicago quintet benefits greatly from Larry O. Dean's songwriting skills. Gentrification Is Theft contains twelve mostly mid-tempo tunes that will attract fans of Girls Say Yes and It's A Beautiful Day. The Windy City should be glad to have The Me Decade among its musical ranks. AMPLIFIER
The Me Decade is an enigmatic Chicago five-piece combo fronted by scene veteran, singer-songwriter Larry O. Dean. Fresh off of Dean's latest solo album, Sir Slob, the backing band is ready to mark its "official" debut entitled Gentrification Is Theft which will be released in October on the indie label, Spade Kitty Records.
The fifty-minute disc is full of heady string arrangements and rock guitars, reminiscent of early XTC and Siamese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins. "Dawning on Your Face" is a splendid, sing along pop song with a refrain that threatens to stick with you throughout the day. "The Boy Who Fell Too Far from the Tree" is a vibrant opening tune, and "Echo Beach" driven, whereas "Looking for a Spark" is the moody and sad tale of growing old. All at once, Gentrification Is Theft feels like an anthem and something distinctly personal.
Co-produced and engineered by Mark Schwarz (Chamber Strings, Neko Case, Freakwater) the album may just emerge a sleeper to ascend the college charts. Dean has been working the windy city music scene since 1996 where he is called "one of the hardest working men in Chicago rock" (Home Pride Chicago). Prior to that, he cut his teeth both as a solo acoustic performer and front man for pop bands like The Fussbudgets and Malcontent in San Francisco. Not just a prolific musician, Dean is also an anthologized poet whose bibliography is as impressive as his discography. COSMIK DEBRIS
Chicagoan Larry O. Dean has gathered together another talented Windy City bunch – The Me Decade. This band's disc, Gentrification Is Theft, should be released soon. From a contemporary perspective, the band's songs sound like Russ Tolman and Girls Say Yes. On a more dated basis, one can also hear wisps of the mid-60s San Francisco mixed gender bands, Jefferson Airplane and It's A Beautiful Day. Whether the tunes feature strummy pop, straight-ahead rock, fuzzy amplification, psych/pop or guitar pop with strings, the twelve songs are all catchy enough to make this disc a worthy addition to your pop music library. FUFKIN.COM