Modern pop music tends to be so personality-driven that getting an email from a band like Tower is as refreshing as it is bewildering. Who are they? “A new band called Tower.” Where are they from? “From LA’s SFV.” That’s all you’re supposed to know at the moment, apparently — well, and also that their debut single, “Can’t Vibe,” is “a party track about attraction.” These guys are so resolutely faceless that if you gave them a sword or spaceship logo, they could be the 21st century version of Toto or Boston. Does that mean corporate rock is coming back? I kind of hope so, because at least those bands knew how to have a little irony-free fun.
Speaking of which, here’s “Can’t Vibe,” a synthy collision of melody and groove that manages to sound like a lost Scritti Politti hit without being self-consciously retro. The guitar crunches, the bass burbles, and the keyboards swirl behind sunny-yet-cool vocals that stutter and soar into the pop stratosphere; the more I listen to this thing, the more I love it, and the more pissed off I am that the damn thing is only 3:21 long. Where’s Arthur Baker with a 12″ remix when I need him?
Tower’s Twitter account promises “more coming v v soon.” In the meantime, we dance.
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