Melomania, an excessive or abnormal attraction to music, is something we recognize ourselves in, right? New York City-based power pop trio The John Sally Ride – John Dunbar, Sal Maida and Joe Pampel – picked up this theme for their new album, naturally called Melomaniacs. It consists of ten classy pop tunes about the behavior of people like you and me, who read reviews on blogs, buy records and go to live concerts. For those who feel addressed, Dunbar’s lyrics are a feast of recognition: “Crammed IKEA bookshelves everywhere that you look // But when you get closer you will not see a book” (from His Record Collection), “From words alone, we knew what they were sounding like // From words alone, we discovered our folk and psych” (God Bless The Music Press), “He made a vow not to start with a basic greatest hits // Since Ray Davies was one of rock music’s greatest wits” (His First Kinks Album), and so on and so forth.

Melomaniacs, produced by Len Monachello, is out digitally and on CD via Heartpunch.

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