The Momentum Builds
To drum up support for Greetings From Imrie House, the band has toured extensively, opening for Ashlee Simpson and most recently the Backstreet Boys. Meanwhile, the single “Just the Girl” has been climbing the charts and building up momentum. When the album hits stores August 16th, 2005, it should find an eager crowd waiting. My prediction is they won’t be disappointed in what they hear. Once Greetings From Imrie House hits the CD player, fans will be singing along with lead vocalist Eric Dill on “Good Day,” the album’s first song, in no time.

Fondness For Classic Pop
“Just the Girl” is a rocker with irresistible melody and witty lyrics, courtesy of the songwriter, Fountains Of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger. It is a fine introduction to an album that is filled with tight melodies, 5-part vocal harmonies, and driving guitar. The group’s primary songwriter, Ben Romans, carries his fondness for the Beatles and the Beach Boys on his sleeve. There is also a heavy streak of 80’s nostalgia informing these tunes. When “Time Machine” kicks off with “Eleanor Rigby”-esque strings then slides into early 80’s style new wave-style power pop accented with vocal harmonies that would please the Beach Boys, you know the Click Five are part of a generation with the benefit of 50-years pop-rock history.

A Tuneful, Happy Place
Greetings From Imrie House does not completely avoid missteps. The quality of the band’s own original material makes an uninspired cover of the Thompson Twins’ “Lies” stand out as a glaring miscalculation. The collaboration with Kiss’ Paul Stanley on “Angel To You (Devil To Me)” generates less heat than many of the band’s own songs. Some tunes are indeed more catchy than others, but when the band really hits its stride on a Ben Romans original like “Pop Princess,” the world is a tuneful, happy place.