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Sunday, March 2, 2025

Brevity - Home Is Where Your Dog Is (1970 us, fantastic mosaic of baroque power pop folk psych rock, 2024 remaster)



Meet Brevity, the '70s Chicago band that took their name seriously. Rick Vittenson and Mark Breyer mashed up their surnames faster than you can say "power pop pioneers." Imagine the Byrds and Everly Brothers had a love child raised by the British Invasion – that's Brevity's sound in a nutshell. They were so good, they drew comparisons to Badfinger and Harry Nilsson. Not too shabby for a band you've probably never heard of... until now! Island Records and Frank Zappa's Bizarre/Straight label were sniffing around, but Brevity's tunes remained locked in a vault. Talk about a tease! Fast forward to now, and Think Like A Key is playing musical archaeologist, unearthing Home Is Where Your Dog Is. It's not just an album; it's a time capsule of proto-power pop goodness. But wait, there's more! Vittenson and Breyer (with drummer David Winogrond) weren't done. They went on to shape the Chicago/LA scene with Athanor and Skooshny. Because when you're this talented, one band just isn't enough. Brevity: They may have been short-lived, but their impact? Anything but brief. Proof that sometimes, the best things in music come in small packages!
Rough-Trade

Tracks
1. Oleoleo - 2:17
2. Aslan And You - 2:51
3. Very Truly Yours - 3:18
4. Snow Joke - 3:09
5. Better Dead Than In The Red - 4:09
6. For Lack Of A Smile - 3:10
7. Come See Paris (In The Fall) - 4:33
8. Lullaby - On Vacant Eve - 3:12
9. Cakewalk - 3:07
10.A Niche In Time - 4:05
11.Home Alone - 2:25
12.Everybody's Very Nice - 2:02
13.Friends Of Mine - 4:26
14.Little Fawn - 2:33
15.So And So Equals Zero - 2:36
16.Soaring So High - 2:52
17.Pets - 2:32
18.Pussycat, Pussycat - 3:01
19.Try To Forget - 3:58
20.Cakewalk (Secret Tape) - 1:37
Tracks 1,3,5,7,9,11-13,15,20 written by Mark Breyer
Tracks 4,6,8,10,14,16-19 written by Rick Vittenson

Brevity
*Jeff Peters - Bass
*Rick Vittenson - Guitar, Vocals
*David Winogrond - Drums
With
*Mark Breyer - Vocals, Composer
*Jack Burchall - Bass
*Joan Burnstein - Guitar
*Gary Gand - Keyboards, Mandolin

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