They say that about buses. You wait years and three of then turn up at the same time. I was thinking that might be an appropriate comment about “Judge A Man By the Company He Keeps” but the reality is that it has been rather more than three years since the last album by The Eisenhowers.
So, is this album worth the wait? Well, yes for, although this album could be seen as more in the same vein, you can’t really complain about twelve examples of nicely matured power pop that pull sonic influences from all the best places whilst adding a decent sized portion of tidy lyrics that seem, thankfully, long divorced from the predictability of the online thesaurus.
As you might also expect of a band that has been about since there was live music, “Judge A Man By the Company He Keeps” is a polished album that rewards that all important second listen. “My Gang”, for example, might well drift by you initially but all those carefully assembled components are guaranteed to catch you the next time it comes around the block. Likewise, “Mr McIntosh Has Left The Building” initially seems merely derivative until, on deeper inspection, you realise that the song resonates with the kind of metaphorical equivalence that might be expected of Ray Davies. That second, or even third, journey is indeed when you get your money’s worth.
Best song? The oblique “My Gang”.
The verdict? Matured power pop brings health benefits.
The album is available from Bandcamp and other digital outlets.