''Like This'' is the third studio album by the American
power pop
Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a 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 ch ...
band
the dB's, released in 1984 via
Bearsville Records
Bearsville Records was founded in 1970 by Albert Grossman. Artists included Todd Rundgren, Elizabeth Barraclough, Foghat, Halfnelson/ Sparks, Bobby Charles, Randy VanWarmer, Paul Butterfield's Better Days, Lazarus, Jesse Winchester, and NRBQ. ...
. The band recorded as a trio following the departure of
Chris Stamey.
[ The album includes a re-mixed version of "Amplifier", the lead single from their previous album, '' Repercussion''.
The album's cover is a collection of stills from the music video for their 1982 single "Neverland", which went unreleased until 2008. Stamey, who was present for the video shoot, was edited out of the stills adorning the cover.
]
Critical reception
''Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
'' called the album "an instantly lovable gem," writing that "although the reliance on eterHolsapple’s songwriting cut down on the band’s eccentricities, unpretentious intelligence, wit and ineffable pop smarts make it a wonderful album with no weak spots or inadequate songs."The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote that the Stamey-less songs "are less crammed with melodic and verbal ideas than earlier dB's material. They also sound more integrated and less like strings of pop quotations." The '' Sun Sentinel'' thought that "the weakness here (and probably what sank it on radio) is the strained vocals."
Track listing
All tracks composed by Peter Holsapple
# "Love Is for Lovers"
# "She Got Soul"
# "Spitting in the Wind"
# "Lonely Is (As Lonely Does)"
# "Not Cool"
# "Amplifier"
# "A Spy in the House of Love"
# "Rendezvous"
# "New Gun in Town"
# "On the Battlefront"
# "White Train"
CD bonus tracks
#"Darby Hall"
# "A Spy in the House of Love" (Extended Version)
Personnel
* Peter Holsapple – rhythm guitar, lead vocals, keyboards, mandolin
*Gene Holder – bass guitar, lead guitar, keyboards
* Will Rigby – drums, backing vocals, keyboards, co-lead vocals on "Not Cool" and "White Train"
Additional musicians
*Mark Tomeo – Pedal steel guitar
* Patrick Irwin – Keyboards
*Rick Wagner – Keyboards
*Phil Marino – design, photography
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Like This (Album)
1984 albums
The dB's albums
Bearsville Records albums
Rhino Records albums
Albums produced by Chris Butler (musician)
Albums produced by Scott Litt