With The Damned scheduled for SoCal concert appearances this week in San Diego (Nov. 13), Huntington Beach (Nov. 14), Santa Ana (Nov. 15), and Los Angeles (Nov. 17), it's a good time to remind local fans that Professor and the Madman - the side project from classic Damned era drummer Rat Scabies and bassist Paul Gray - have a new album out.
Along with co-lead singers/guitarists/keyboardists Alfie Agrew (the Adolescents, D.I.) and Sean Elliott (Mind Over Four, D.I.), Professor and the Madman released its fifth studio album Dreamworld on LP/CD/digital via Fuller Tone Records over the summer. The cover art is a nod to The Beatles' Revolver.
Dreamworld is a great effort from the music veterans who first gained prominence from being part of either the London or Fullerton, Calif. punk scenes during the 1970s/80s. The new songs marked the first time the members recorded in the same room and part of the album was tracked during a single day at Abbey Road Studio 2 in London.
The piano-led title track is a highlight which boasts a jaunty mid-1960s vibe (think: '90s power pop band Jellyfish or more modern act The Lemon Twigs), complete with layered 'ba ba ba' vocal harmonies. Professor and the Madman also impresses with the effusive early Who-type energy (more layered harmonies) of "Tolerant World." The buoyant baroque pop-leaning "Brand New World" is about aliens from the future trying to save a dying Earth by building a new planet.
Another dose of blissful, harmony-laden power pop arrives with "The Light." The same holds true for "Nuclear Boy," a terrific and well-chosen cover of 20/20's European single from 1981. It is propelled by driving electric guitar work and rapid-fire vocals.
Elsewhere, a dense "12 Strings and Tambourines" delves into psychedelia, while the dreamy rocker "Adams Street" (inspired where Agnew grew up in Fullerton) contains an impressive falsetto vocal and freakout guitar. There's even a brief Beatlesque reprise of the title track.
George Paul
