Showstar Think Ringo Is Still Cool

When I think of Belgium...I think of beer, awesome beer, beer that you would never be able to find in this country. I quite honestly don't think of indie rock. But, after listening to Showstar's Think RingoI'm beginning to think maybe I should. Showstar are a well known Belgian band that as their bio says has been hunting for the perfect pop song since their creation. The idea, they believe, is to find songs that will appeal to housewives, students, CEO's and motorists...that's tough and it might be a never-ending quest but they're most definitely getting closer to finding it with their latest album, Think Ringo.

Think Ringo is a blinding jangly pop record that straddles the fence between being indie pop, power pop, and Britpop. It's obviously influenced by a combination of British influences that can not only be traced through the decades but traced back to certain bands. In just listening to Think Ringo you can hear Beatles, La's, bits and bobs of Blur, Pulp, The Coral and more. It's as if the songs that make up this record hopped aboard the Eurostar crossed the channel and spent the mid-90's in London and then drunkenly found their way back home. Cool Britannia is all over the songs of Showstar and as someone who has listened to predominantly British pop for the last sixteen years this is a very, very good thing.

Showstar have essentially written ten melodic anthems with soaring and jangly guitars, quirky vocals, and choruses that even your two year old cousin could sing back to you. Think Ringo is addictive for all those reasons. In other words, this is a record that's so easy to latch on to you'll wonder why it took you so long. And while all that pop goodness is fine and dandy, what's fascinating about this band is that underneath all that glistening harmonic pop music is a band with a dark side. You see, Think Ringo at times is introspective, self-doubting, and almost a bit angry but it's all cleverly disguised under a delectable sugar coating. In a sense you could think of Think Ringo as a record with joyful cynicism because it puts it's best smile on while cringing underneath at the very possibility of being something great.

I've got to admit having listened to Think Ringo a few times on repeat, I have a new found respect for Belgian pop. Showstar are a fantastic band that takes the best bits of British pop covers it in Belgian chocolate and packages it for the world to consume. They might not have found the perfect pop song quite yet, but Showstar are so close that if they don't find it w/in two albums there truly is no hope for us or music. Think Ringo is really good stuff that is highly recommended.