Stop Pretending (album)

Last updated
Stop Pretending
Stop Pretending (album).jpg
Studio album by
Released1986
RecordedSpring–winter 1985
Genre Garage punk
Length1:02:14
Label Rhino
Producer Bill Inglot [1]
The Pandoras chronology
The Pandoras EP
(1985)
Stop Pretending
(1986)
Rock Hard EP
(1988)

Stop Pretending is a studio album by the American garage punk band the Pandoras, released in 1986 by Rhino Records. [2] [3]

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Houston Chronicle Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
San Jose Mercury News 8/10 [6]
Martin C. Strong 6/10 [7]

Trouser Press wrote: "While maintaining the ’60s fixation and playing up the brash-hussy stance, Stop Pretending features stronger playing and a harder-rocking edge (there’s no reason why 'In and Out of My Life (In a Day)' shouldn’t have been a hit), suggesting that the Pandoras aren’t as hopelessly mired in historical fetishism as one might assume." [8]

The Washington Post thought that "it's simply more interesting and even more modern when an all-female band adopts the aggressive punk stance and angry sound that was once the exclusive signature of male frustration and rebellion." [9] The Los Angeles Times wrote that "[Paula] Pierce's vocals are uneven and the songs are more duplication than inspiration, but Stop Pretending effectively plays tough with stereotypes about '60s bands and girl bands, putting Pierce and her cohorts on top-which seems to be the position they prefer." [10] The New York Times opined that "the musicianship is rough, and the album production ... suffers from its low budget like many independent label releases." [11]

Track listing

All songs written by Paula Pierce unless otherwise noted.

Side one

  1. "In and Out of My Life (In a Day)"
  2. "I Didn't Cry"
  3. "Anyone but You"
  4. "You're All Talk"
  5. "That's Your Way Out"
  6. "You Don't Satisfy"

Side two

  1. "Let's Do Right}"
  2. "I'm Your Girl "
  3. "That's The Way It's Going to Be"
  4. "Stop Pretending"
  5. "Ain’t Got No Soul" (Gary Fausz, Jim Geyer)
  6. "It Felt Alright"

2003 bonus tracks

  1. "The Hump" (Herb Gross)
  2. "I Want My Caveman"
  3. "You Burn Me Up and Down" (Demo Version)
  4. "Bad Seed" (Demo Version)
  5. "She's Ugly" (Demo Version)
  6. "Love Them, Leave Them" (Demo Version)
  7. "Something I Can't Have" (Demo Version)
  8. "You Don't Know" (Demo Version)
  9. "Never Get Enough" (Demo Version)
  10. "In and Out of My Life (In a Day)" (Demo Version)

Personnel

Related Research Articles

Power pop is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and cheerful-sounding music underpinned by a sense of yearning, longing, despair, or self-empowerment. The sound is primarily rooted in pop and rock traditions of the early-to-mid 1960s, although some artists have occasionally drawn from later styles such as punk, new wave, glam rock, pub rock, college rock, and neo-psychedelia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Knack</span> American band

The Knack was an American rock band based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with its first single, "My Sharona", an international number-one hit in 1979.

<i>Cinéma Vérité</i> (album) 1985 studio album by Dramarama

Cinéma Vérité is the first album by the alternative rock group Dramarama, released in 1985. Although Dramarama was an American group, from New Jersey, the album was originally released by New Rose Records of France, and in America on Question Mark Records. It was later picked up for release by Chameleon Records, a small independent record label based in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pandoras</span> American female garage punk band

The Pandoras were an American all-female garage punk band from Los Angeles, California, active from 1982 to 1991. The band is among the first handful of all-female rock bands to ever be signed. From the beginning, the band found a strong following in the Hollywood garage rock and Paisley Underground scene, making the gossip pages almost weekly. The Pandoras enjoyed strong radio support from DJ Rodney Bingenheimer. The band graduated from the garage rock sound to a more contemporary, hard rock style in later years, spawning the off-shoot band The Muffs.

Sweet Baby was a pop punk band that originated from Berkeley, California, and was part of the 924 Gilman Street scene. They were signed to Ruby Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Shattuck</span> American singer, musician, and songwriter (1963–2019)

Kimberly Dianne Shattuck was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. She was the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the American punk rock band the Muffs, which formed in 1991. From 1985 to 1990, Shattuck was a member of The Pandoras. In 2001, she was a singer, guitarist and songwriter for The Beards, a side project composed of Shattuck, Lisa Marr, and Sherri Solinger. In 2013, she served briefly as the bass player for Pixies.

<i>Wild Gift</i> 1981 studio album by X

Wild Gift is the second studio album by American rock band X, released on May 6, 1981, by Slash Records. It was very well received critically, and was voted the year's second best album in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll. Wild Gift was later ranked at number 334 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

<i>Cut</i> (The Slits album) 1979 studio album by the Slits

Cut is the debut studio album by English punk band the Slits, released on 7 September 1979. It was recorded at Ridge Farm Studios in Rusper and produced by Dennis Bovell.

<i>The Modern Lovers</i> (album) 1976 studio album by the Modern Lovers

The Modern Lovers is the debut studio album by American rock band the Modern Lovers. It was released on Beserkley Records in August 1976, though the original tracks had been recorded in 1971 and 1972. Six of the original tracks were produced by John Cale.

<i>Harder Than You</i> 1989 studio album by 24-7 Spyz

Harder Than You is the debut album by 24-7 Spyz. It was released in 1989 via In-Effect. The album contains elements of several genres. The group flirts with polka on "Tango Skin Polka," introspective political reggae on "Ballots Not Bullets," and speed metal with "Spill My Guts."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yachts (band)</span> British power pop/new wave band

Yachts were a British power pop/new wave band, best remembered for their 1977 single "Suffice to Say" and the minor new wave classic "Love You, Love You".

The Last is a Los Angeles–based band formed in 1976 by Joe Nolte with high school bandmates Vitus Mataré and Dave Harbison. By 1978 the band included three brothers: Joe, Mike (vocals), and David Nolte. They released several albums on SST Records, Bomp! Records and End Sounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pleasant Valley Sunday</span> 1967 single by the Monkees

"Pleasant Valley Sunday" is a song by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, recorded and released by the Monkees in the summer of 1967. Inspired by their move to West Orange, New Jersey, and named for a street there, Goffin and King wrote the song about their dissatisfaction with life in the suburbs.

Dan Matovina ) was an American record producer, recording engineer, video producer, publishing agent, author and curator who restored hundreds of hours of tapes by Beatles protegés, Badfinger and its precursor group, The Iveys, along with songwriting demos by Pete Ham and Tom Evans. His 1997 biography of the band, Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger, was considered one of the top rock biographies upon its release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sneetches (band)</span> American indie pop/power pop band, 1985–1995

The Sneetches were an American indie pop/power pop band formed in San Francisco, California, United States, in 1985, who released several albums before splitting up in the mid-1990s. The band was described by Trouser Press as "one of the most tasteful, consistently tuneful pop bands on the American scene". In 2017, All Music described The Sneetches as "one of the best classic guitar pop bands in the late '80s/early '90s."

<i>The Headquarters Sessions</i> 2000 box set by The Monkees

The Headquarters Sessions is a compilation album by the American pop rock band the Monkees, released in 2000 by Rhino Handmade. It contains 84 tracks on three CDs, including 60 previously unreleased recordings from the sessions that produced the band's third album, Headquarters (1967).

The High Back Chairs was a band from Washington, DC. Initially consisting of guitarist/vocalist Peter Hayes, guitarist Jim Spellman, bassist/vocalist Charles Steck, and drummer/vocalist Jeff Nelson, the group released its music on the Washington, D.C. punk record label, Dischord Records. The band eschewed the post-hardcore and hardcore punk sounds that Dischord was known for. Instead, the High-Back Chairs' music was highly melodic indie rock, owing more to power pop and jangle pop than to the band's punk rock roots. This was all the more notable since Nelson was a co-founder of Dischord and had played in the influential hardcore punk band, Minor Threat from 1980 to 1983. "Coming out at a time when grunge held a lot of sway in Amerindie land," Trouser Press later said of the band, "this breezy, supremely melodic, gutsy rock seemed almost noble."

<i>Its About Time</i> (The Pandoras album) 1984 studio album by The Pandoras

It's About Time is the debut studio album by American garage punk band the Pandoras and was released in 1984 by the Voxx record label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Bang the Drum</span> 1985 single by The Waterboys

"Don't Bang the Drum" is a song by British band the Waterboys, released as the opening track on their third studio album, This Is the Sea. It was written by Mike Scott and Karl Wallinger, and produced by Scott. The song was released as a single in Germany and was also issued as a 12" promotional vinyl in the United States.

<i>Electric Juices</i> 1996 studio album by Fuzzy

Electric Juices is the second album by the American band Fuzzy, released in 1996.

References

  1. "Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 5. Feb 1, 1986. p. 80.
  2. "The Pandoras | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  3. Quill, Greg (11 Apr 1986). "Pandoras purvey '60s trash rock". Toronto Star. p. D14.
  4. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 399.
  5. Racine, Marty (November 30, 1986). "Records". Houston Chronicle. Zest. p. 11.
  6. Shefchik, Rick (June 15, 1986). "PANDORAS, 'Stop Pretending' (Rhino)". San Jose Mercury News. Arts. p. 14.
  7. Strong, Martin C. (2003). The Great Indie Discography (2nd ed.). Cannongate. p. 449.
  8. "Pandoras". Trouser Press. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  9. "The Pandoras: Tough-Girl Punk". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  10. Lee, Craig (16 Mar 1986). "PANDORAS' KNOCKS". Los Angeles Times. Calendar. p. 65.
  11. Vare, Ethlie Ann (Mar 16, 1986). "'GIRL GROUPS' LEAVE BEHIND THE OLD STEREOTYPES". The New York Times. p. A24.