The Original Sins "Move" 1992***

I bought this album during a period I'd get anything labelled "garage rock" and actually enjoy them all despite a certain sameness. The Original Sins were never an A-list band, more like solid garage rockers notable for writing their own songs instead of just covering Sonics/ Nuggets 60's classics. After an increasingly well-received trio of releases, it seemed that by 1992 they were finally due to break out from the underground. Nirvana had just kicked the doors of the mainstream open for alternative rock bands, while singer-guitarist John Terlesky was apparently on a songwriting roll, coming up with enough material to fill a double album. The name of R.E.M's Peter Buck on the producer's chair was another good omen - the record came out precisely as R.E.M. reached their world-conquering commercial peak. The Sins have a distinctive sound that many compare to The Lyres, owing to the 60's influences and omnipresence of organ (although The Sins' Dan McKinney played a Korg instead of the standard garage bands' favorite Vox or Farfisa). Compared to The Lyres, they also had a wider songwriting range: Here you'll find guitar driven punk rockers reminiscent of Radio Birdman or The Godfathers ("Talking To You", "Like An Animal", "Hit Or Miss", "It's A Good Life", "Devil's Music", "Between The Lines"), 60's-style garage ("Watch You Dance", "Waiting", "Closing My Eyes"), catchy 70's power pop ("She's On My Side", "If I Knew", "All Good Things"), R&B party tunes ("Wake Up", "Move", "Feel So Fine", "Break The Chain"), and even slower melodic psychedelia and ballads ("I Surrender", "Getting The Feeling", "Forest For The Trees", "Nothing's Everything", "Not Today"). In retrospect, neither the large number of tracks (24) nor the relatively polished power-pop sound was a good idea. Songs that would have sounded great during the paisley underground days of the early 80's were too tame for the grunge crowds of the 90's while, despite the variety, the record sounded overlong and repetitive with an evenly pleasant sound but no real hits. Eventually "Move" proved a commercial flop, and while The Sins soldiered on for a further six years and numerous albums, they would never again reach for the charts, seemingly contend to be just a cult band. Well, it's better to be fondly remembered by a faithful few than to have had your 15 minutes of fame and see your CD's getting massively dumped at the thrift shops.

**** for Watch You Dance, Getting The Feeling, Forest For The Trees, Waiting, Hit Or Miss

*** for She's On My Side, I Surrender, Talking To You, Like An Animal, Move, Saturday, Feel So Fine, I'll Be Around, Between The Lines, If I Knew, Closing My Eyes, It's A Good Life, Not Today, Devil's Music

** for Wake Up, All Good Things, I Never Dreamed, Break The Chain, Nothing's Everything