My Mind’s Eye – Amy Nyman
05/27/01

The Jessica Fletchers – Sorry About the Noise EP (Two Zero)
Joining forces once again, the Perfect Pop label has issued the CD version (containing one extra track), while Two Zero Records has put out the four-song 7” I had the good fortune to hear. Following a tension-building percussion intro, ringing phone, and some random dialogue (could this be related to the band’s Murder-mystery adapted moniker?), the title track bursts into a groovy, garagey organ solo, incredibly catchy guitar riff, and fittingly retro lead vocal, and works its Nugget-esque way to a brief backwards guitar solo and Zumpano-like bridge (“Zumpano-like” being the best adjective I can think of to suggest late ’60s Beach Boys, Zombies, and Love all rolled into one). Contrast that with track two, “Houses Burning Down”, a gentle acoustic pop number filled with harmonies featuring the added bonus (in my book) of lyrics like ‘listening to a Hollies song’ and then the tune revealed, ‘…It’s On a Carousel’. The ensuing “Are You Dying” is a meandering British prog-pop knit of guitars and organs and the EP is capped off by “Christopher Jensen”, a more straight-ahead organ-driven pop tune. Okay, so we’ve got organ-centric, British, late ’60s, pop, and garagey. What’s not to like?