Belltowers - Day Breakway

2015 debut album from the garage rockers. Paul Mutchler, former guitarist and singer with The Lears got The Belltowers together with fellow guitarist Eddie Foeller in 2006. Eddie had known Paul since the mid '80s playing in various bands around their Orlando, Florida home base - he had met Marshall Huggins a bass player who could also sing and play keyboards and drummer Tom Miller and together they formed Little Bill. By 1998 Paul had also met with Marshall and Tom and played with them in Los Knievals which eventually led to the formation of The Belltowers, driven by their collective influences of The Byrds, Flamin' Groovies, Gene Clark, The Stems and The Headless Horsemen. The band has unleashed various 7' singles and featured on a few compilation albums and the demand for a full length album just kept building. Day Breakaway has arrived - 12 originals that utterly nail what The Belltowers are all about. Full of 12 string Rickenbacker jangle, it may look back to the sounds of old but it has a bright and contemporary new sonic attack and is packed with cool harmonies. The garage influences add a bit of fuzz and a touch of psychedelia, while some songs have a pure pop edge. Overall, Day Breakaway is a refreshing blast of an album - moments of melancholy rub shoulders with moments of joy bound together by tunes that just buzz in your brain.