Record of the Week: Class: If You've Got Nothing LP

Class: If You’ve Got Nothing 12” (Feel It Records) I know Class’s latest LP, If You’ve Got Nothing, dropped a few months ago, but I gave it another listen this week and the record sucked me in so fully that I have to give it a late Record of the Week shout-out. Whenever I put on a Class record, my first thought is, “god damn it this band is so fucking great.” They have a classic sound rooted in mid-70s power-pop… the Flamin’ Groovies, the Nerves, and the like. While many of the pretty boys who emulate those tones write tunes that leave me cold, Class has the songwriting prowess to evoke this storied era without sounding like a hollow echo. If You’ve Got Nothing starts with two of its strongest numbers. “Public Void” reminds me of Eddy Current Suppression Ring in its laid-back delivery, the drummer playing fast but behind the beat while the bass player lays down a rock solid groove. While the song builds to a climactic chorus, it also makes room for a couple of extended instrumental breaks where two lead guitars twist tangled, Television-esque knots. Next is “Behind the Ball,” whose huge vocal hook in the chorus is sing-along-able enough to warrant a comparison to the Exploding Hearts. There are plenty of highlights through the rest of the LP (like the bratty, near-hardcore of “Burning Cash”), but it takes an interesting turn on the final track, “Grid Stress,” where a different vocalist takes the mic and Class dives into full-on Blue Oyster Cult worship. It fucking RULES. When you look at how prolific Class has been—two albums and two substantial EPs in barely two years—you’d assume the quality would vary, but there isn’t much, if anything, I’d leave on the cutting room floor. If you love a great pop/rock tune played with skill and feeling by actual humans (not computers), get some Class in your collection right now.