Jeff Hill Band

Reviews

Jeff Hill Band Entertainment for the Fun Generation LP

I’m just a few songs in, and I can tell you what these guys are about: these guys are about super melodic pop music. It’s very much got that feel of power pop from the early ’80s. And whether the sound is pop or power pop, the influence is clearly the pop music of the ’60s with all sorts of different genres represented, including doo wop and surf. I like it. I like it a bunch. Fourteen songs is a lot on one album for me. My magic number is ten. And I like songs to almost always be less than two-and-a-half minutes.

Jeff Hill Band The Pathway Tapes 1977 EP

The JEFF HILL BAND were a power pop three-piece based in London during the late ’70s, fronted by the eponymous Jeff Hill. They released only one single during their brief existence, 1979’s “Something’s Wrong With My Baby.” The four songs featured on The Pathway Tapes were originally recorded for the Chiswick label in 1979, and here they’ve been released at long last by Lisbon’s Different Class, who have done God’s work in unearthing several similar forgotten punk/garage/power pop groups over the years. Despite forming in the UK, the JEFF HILL BAND has a decidedly American (and specifically New York) flavor, sounding more akin to MILK ‘N’ COOKIES than the JAM. While there’s nothing revelatory about this lost EP, it did endear itself to me after several listens. By-the-numbers late ’70s power pop isn’t always enough to thrill me, but the songs here are sweet, simple, and toe-tappingly infectious. Won’t change your life, but it’s hard to dislike!