Although they occasionally dress as such, the Airport 77s are not airline pilots, but they play their guitars and drums with enough energy to take flight. Bassist Chuck Dolan, drummer John Kelly, and guitarist Andy Sullivan came together over a shared love of obscure 1970s power pop, so not surprising that they cover Bram Tchaikovsky’s Girl Of My Dreams on their self-produced debut album Rotation. The other seven tracks are own work, a selection from the slowly but surely built up repertoire of more than 100 songs, just as good (according to the band bio, the premise was that “the original material had to be good enough to follow Jessie’s Girl in the set”). The music is power pop like power pop is meant to be, but the lyrics really bring a smile to your face – just listen to (When You’re Kissing On Me Do You Think Of) James McAvoy, an ode to the Scottish actor: (“If Coldplay was his jam / Would you say they’re your favorite band? / It’s like you don’t give a damn about human dignity.”)
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Bonus: See the video for Christine’s Coming Over below.