The dynamic two-piece rock group The Spectres will be releasing a new tape called Baby, You’re Too Pretty To Rumble on King Pizza records May 27th. This release show is scheduled at Howlers with accompanying acts Jiant Eagle and Franny Moon + Second Ladies.
Hailing from Greenfield in Pittsburgh, The Spectres have been spreading the gospel of bare-bones rock ’n’ roll all through the city, blending a combination of ’77 street punk, ‘60s garage rock, do-wop and surf.
The band started when multi-instrumentalist Dan Spagnolo moved to Pittsburgh for graduate school. Through the wonders of Craigslist, Spagnolo connected with James Thompson who had a one-man-band recording project.
The two began writing and performing together in the summer of 2014. Notable acts that they have shared the stage with include No Bunny and King Congo. My question is, when are they going to be playing with King Khan and the BBQ Show?
Much like other hard-hitting duos, they use the simplistic tried-and-true raw rock ’n’ roll techniques to get their point across—mainly energy, catchy songwriting and volume. The Sonics and the Ramones carry influences in their sound that are hard to miss.
Baby, You’re Too Pretty To Rumble is a ten song joyride through everything rock ’n’ roll. With song titles like “Night Goes Rolling By,” “Hot – Rod” and “Drive – In Tonight” you know you are going to get a good dose of the care-free all-American vibe of milkshakes, baseball, fast cars and girls.
Upon listening to the record, however, there’s also the decadence and attitude you’d find in work by the Black Lips, New Swears or Johnny Thunders.
Despite only being a two-piece, The Specters manage to utilize everything they’ve got, including two-part harmonies.
The title track implements keyboards, something which begs the question—what would they sound like if they just got a full line-up? The world may never know.
