The E-Types! - Action Packed EP

Label: Square Target
Year of Release: 1992

Among the British retro-boppers there seems to be precious little mention of US neo-mod and garage bands.  Whilst plenty of readers of both this blog and some of the others on the reading list probably tuck into revivalists linked to Billy Childish or signed to Acid Jazz records, mentions of bands such as The Go and The Woggles are rather thin on the ground (and we'll put The White Stripes to one side as a freak accident for the purposes of this discussion).  This isn't perhaps as odd as it might initially appear - the more underground movements are, after all, the more likely it is that their appreciation will become regionalised and localised.  It's highly unlikely that most of these bands have the finances to organise a global promotional tour even if the will might be there.

Sacramento's The E-Types! were a case a point, spending the period from 1987-1992 producing the kind of power-pop which actually seeped into the British charts earlier in the eighties - out in America, however, they were a cult band who played to enthusiastic specialised audiences who probably might not otherwise have gained easy access to bands influenced by The Jam.  Predictably, the contents of this EP sound rather sunnier and less wiry and neurotic than their British counterparts, but maintain a snappy three-minute pop charm which sees the whole thing through nicely.  In particular, the final track "1,000 Times A Day" is shows a band who might have been capable of much more commercial things had they been given the chance to develop further.

It didn't happen, obviously, and - compilation appearances aside - this appears to have been their only release.  Still, one-single and one-EP wonders were also a sixties phenomenon, so perhaps the limited music available from this lot was actually just one more aspect to their authenticity, albeit an unintentional one.

Track Listing:
1. She Changes
2. What's Goin' On
3. I Never Cried
4. 1,000 Times A Day