The Baseballs - Strike - Album Review

Posted by Peter on 12th May 2010 at 11:38am
We got a chance to review a preview (in the UK) copy of Strike by The Baseballs.


The Baseballs are a strange mixture; 50's style rock n roll covers of modern songs, and until you've heard them, you have no idea what you are missing. The début album “Strike” is on it's way over from Europe, and will be here soon. The band has already had play time on Steve Wright's show and looks to get a lot more air time soon.

Listen to them rocking out Rhianna's Umbrella or I Don't Feel Like Dancin' by the Scissor Sisters and its as if you are hearing the song completely anew. The fun and enthusiasm these boys have for the music come across wonderfully. It shouldn't work, but it does, and the result is infectious.

Sometimes sounding almost too much like Elvis, this album delivers what could be the soundtrack to the summer. The Baseballs show up how bland and repetitive modern music has become, listening to it you can feel the sheer raw joy of playing music. I prefer every cover over the original, and in fact am listening now to songs I previously rejected when the original artists performed them.

I have been playing Strike for a few weeks now, and have constantly been expecting the novelty to wear off, the joke to wear thin, and for the album to sink off my playlist. I'm too cynical, strangely enough, it didn't, in fact their arrangements of these songs have grown on me, and the whole album gets played in a regular cycle.

So in closing, listen to this, try them, Strike may seem like a “novelty” album but I am sure you wont be disappointed.

** Update, The Baseballs will be appearing on Steve Wrights show on BBC Radio 2 today, 12 May 2010, Their album makes its UK début on the 17th of May.