It's tough for current pop bands to channel the Beatles without coming off as goofily retro or slavishly derivative, but Canadian quintet The Orchid Highway do a pretty damned spiffy job of it on their self-titled effort. Matter of fact, The Orchid Highway often sounds not unlike what the Beatles may have sounded like had they recorded Revolver in 2008. From the languid, slightly trippy "Let's Stay in Instead" and the jangly - yet insistently rockin' - Rickenbacker fest "Next World" to the Stonesy "Pop Tart Girl" (dig the "Brown Sugar"-inspired guitar riff that kicks things off) and the instant power pop classic "Time For a Change," the quality is always top notch, with spot-on lead vocals by brothers Jamie and Rory Macdonald and expert musicianship that balances slickness and rawness quite nicely. Pick this one up and if the aforementioned tunes don't become your fave raves, you may cotton to the dreamy "Sofa Surfer Girl" or the fantastic, hyper-poppin' "Medicine Tree" instead. Excellent stuff.
--John M. Borack [August 26, 2008]
