In the mid-1990s, a long hoped-for reunion of the Beatles finally materialized (sort of) when three of the four Beatles recorded a couple of tracks salvaged from John Lennon demos. Also around the same time, the shooting star band called Jellyfish had disintegrated a mere four years and two albums after it started. But it left behind fans who numbered somewhat less than the Beatles’ but were no less hungry for their band to be resuscitated. And some twenty-five years later, a reunion has finally happened…sans one of the four members.
Jellyfish is one of those bands you either love or don’t know about, because to know their music is to love it. Their brand of melodic, power pop and rock deftly pulled ideas from the Beatles and the Beach Boys to Queen and Cheap Trick, and was a league better than their contemporaries in sophistication. And when they were on their game, they were as good as any of those bands. Though ostensibly a quartet, the only permanent members were the songwriting partners keyboardist Roger Manning and drummer/lead vocalist Andy Sturmer. When artistic frictions arose between the two, Jellyfish was el finito. That was in 1994.
Fast forward to the Jellyfish version of the Threetles, named The Lickerish Quartet. The Lickerish Quartet actually formed a few years ago in 2017. Back then, Manning reached out to guitarist and bassist — Eric Dover and Tim Smith — who toured with Jellyfish in support of Spilt Milk, arguably the most finely-crafted rock album after classic rock period (Smith also played bass on that album). These guys hadn’t worked together in any musical capacity since 1995 but they took their sweet time writing and recording the music, and the payoff is finally upon us.
A couple of weeks ago, PopMatters debuted the above video of a track from the first of three planned EP’s by The Lickerish Quartet, “Lighthouse Spaceship.” Sure enough, it does have a whole lot of Jellyfish hallmarks: the rich backing vocals, a headphone worthy sonic tapestry, and melodiousness out the wazoo. Manning now in the lead vocal role is more than a competent fill-in for the absent Sturmer. Maybe the only obvious departure from the Jellyfish formula is that at the point where that earlier band’s song might end, “Lighthouse Spaceship” extends it another three minutes with this cool, psychedelic coda.
If this is a good indicator of what’s in store for the three upcoming EP’s, then sign me up. This first one, Threesome Vol. 1, is set to drop on May 15, 2020. You can pre-order it here.
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