Squire - September Gurls

  by Kimberly Bright

published: 27 / 5 / 2020

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'September Gurls' is vintage heyday power pop from Squire and an overall excellent example of the deceptively simple sounding genre. The original mini album was released in 1984, with a group of shrewdly selected cover songs (Big Star, The Shoes, The Clones) and originals by singer-songwriter Anthony Meynell. This version includes the remastered 1984 release with five newly recorded songs, captured live by Meynell, bassist John Bicknell and new drummer Ray Lawrence, using analogue equipment, from the original ‘80s demos. There are no disappointments among these ten songs, but the ones I have had on repeat are 'September Gurls', 'Debbie Jones', 'Tired of Hiding', 'Feel So Tired' and 'Circular Motion'. Squire’s workmanlike cover version of Big Star’s classic 'September Gurls' is surely one of the best ever, but that doesn’t erase the fact that hearing any non-Alex Chilton recording of the song is always a bit jarring, similar to the way people can immediately instinctively differentiate between real human faces and CGI ones, however expertly formed. The seamlessness of the older and newer songs is impressive: the music is timeless without being fossilised, the newer songs are just as strong, the same jangly pop/mod/Byrds meet Small Faces guitar permeates throughout, and Meynell’s teen-idol voice hasn’t changed much at all in 30+ years. Whether delving into armchair psychology, longing for a long-distance lover, expressing the frustration of the Other Man, accurately describing youthful restlessness or general dissatisfaction, Meynell artfully distills all of these complex emotions into tightly wound three-minute (or so) highly enjoyable pop.

Track Listing:-

1 September Gurls
2 Debbie Jones
3 Boys Don't Lie
4 Tired of Hiding
5 Can You Tell Me When
6 Merry Go Round for Two
7 Feel so Tired
8 The Reasons Why
9 All for Nothing
10 Circular Motion

Band Links:-

http://www.squirenet.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/Squire
http://www.twitter.com/squiremod
http://www.youtube.com/user/squir
http://squire.bandcamp.com

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