by Craig Howieson

A wistful love letter to the soundtrack of youth and dreaming big – Easy Listening is an exquisite power pop record 

Hearing the opening guitar chimes of Cover Of Rolling Stone, you can almost picture a teenage Peter Gill, windmilling around his room, smashing a non-existent Les Paul while longing to join the lineage of rock and roll greats that no doubt adorned his walls. His band’s third record, and second for the marvellously curated Double Double Whammy is another romp through the decades – cherry picking the finest moments his forefathers have to offer and carving his initials in the headstock.

As on Hit to Hit, brevity is still the order of the day on Easy Listening, as Gill and his band kick out sixteen tracks, with most barely touching the two minute mark. None, though, feel anything other than fully formed, which is no mean feat. Teenage Overpopulation and Controlled Burn are particular standouts featuring all the hallmarks of what make 2nd Grade such a delight to listen to; jangling guitars, hand claps, group chant vocals and scorching solos. 

Big Star have always been hugely important to Gill, and while Chilton and Bells’ guiding influence is still felt here, it would be no surprise to find It’s A Shame About Ray and The Blue Album nestled next to Radio City on his record shelf. It is hard to think of a band who have such a knowledge of their subject matter and love of rock and roll as 2nd Grade. Something which is evident in the in-jokes and obscure references that scatter the lyric sheet. The band are musical scholars, and this studious nature has resulted in an exquisite power pop record that never touches on parody.

On Easy Listening, Gill and co are living out their rock and roll fantasies while revelling in the absurdity of the position they find themselves in. The record is a wistful love letter to the soundtrack of youth and dreaming big. After all, teenage dreams are hard to beat. 

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