As fans of the band, even we didn’t see this coming. The Ann Arbor duo IAMDYNAMITE, whose 2012 debut SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC (THEY REALLY LIKE UPPER CASE LETTERS DO NOT JUDGE THEM) sounded like the Black Keys making a power pop record, has just made an up-tempo, minor-key, ’80s-minded song that will make every pop/rock band who just missed the Top 40 between 1984 and 1987 (think the Stabilizers’ “One Simple Thing,” a-ha’s Scoundrel Days singles, late-period China Crisis) seethe with jealousy.
“Be There” is ridiculously good, working bass lines and synths into the mix for the first time. Singer Christopher Martin has a tenor that sits just a few notes below Sting and the Producers’ Van Temple, and he wisely exploits the similarity here, but it’s not the voice that draws the comparisons to the aforementioned bands; it’s the songwriting, which is light years beyond their debut. Here is the band’s debut single, “Stereo.”
HELL YES, right? (Damn, the capital letters thing is apparently contagious.) Now check out “Be There.”
Completely different sport, this. It reminds me of the difference between this debut single…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gncY6pSuNdM
…and this sophomore album single.
This is a smart band, and they’re getting smarter. IAMDYNAMITE’S sophomore album, Wasa Tusa, comes out August 7.
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