The Fullerenes

continued

But this isn't just heady stuff. Like every smart boy who wishes he were cool enough to get the girl, the Fullerenes are looking for love. Four of the seventeen songs on the CD are named after girls, and most of the others are sweet or silly love tunes. Similarly, the creative instrumentation never gets in the way of danceable pop-rock that would be at home on old forty-fives.

Of course, all this can be hard to sustain live. The Fullerenes recorded their CD as a power trio. Since then, guitarist Clint Hoagland has found a new drummer (Steve Bekkala) and bassist (Kevin Krzyzanski) and added a second guitarist (Craig Peters). Ryan Arnholt has moved to guitar and Hoagland to keyboards. The pumping energy is still there, but it takes a lot of practice and a careful soundman to keep the overlapping vocals and dense music from sounding muddy and crunched. No matter — you'll still want to dance when the Fullerenes take the stage at the Blind Pig on Wednesday, May 22.   

[Originally published in May, 2002.]