Chase Hamblin, A Fine Time

When I first encountered Chase Hamblin, my instinct was to shrug and dismiss him as yet another Fab Four fan trying to keep the music he loves alive. While the characterization’s not wrong, though, the dismissal’s a big, big mistake. Rather than just rehash the Beatles for the umpteenth time, on A Fine Time Hamblin takes that music he loves and grafts it into a handful of sublimely gorgeous, carefully-crafted pop-rock songs that expand — rather than capitalize — on the retro-’60s pop sound. The Beatles are there, sure, but they’re just a starting point.

Take the title track; on the surface, it’s sweet, bumping pop, all jangle and smiles, but the sweetness is cut by the sadly yearning lyrics and then (more overtly) with samples taken from our wonderfully modern world of war, fear, death, and stupidity. Consequently, the title “A Fine Time” comes off as bitter, biting sarcasm, which — perhaps perversely — makes me enjoy the song even more. Then there’s the bait-and-switch raveup of “Think of the Good Times,” which starts off tropical-smooth, with Hamblin crooning seductively, but quickly shifts to a more urgent tone; the seduction turns into a plea that might be meant to be reassuring but sounds more desperate than anything. There’s also “Never Let You Go,” which is rougher and rawer, more up-front about its aim, and less Beatles than Animals (and still good).

Music-wise, Hamblin displays a shrewd, sneaky ear, layering some surprising sounds onto the tracks and doing it so subtly that it takes a while for what you’re actually hearing to sink in. The horns playing on “A Fine Time” are a nice touch, and one I noticed the first time through; it took me multiple listens to actually catch the awesome a-shoo-bop-a-shoo-bop backing vocals and (deeper still) the mbira (“thumb piano,” to you and me) Hamblin plays towards the song’s end. How did I not hear that ’til the fourth go-round? I have no clue, but I dearly love stuff like this that seems to unfold and reveal new layers each time you listen, so A Fine Time wins bonus points for me on that front.

The best track on here, “Bye Bye,” weirdly happens to be the last (both on the EP and live, apparently), with Hamblin sounding at his Lennon-est while offering a heartfelt ode to fallen soldiers and bidding friends and loved ones who’ve passed on goodbye. I think. Maybe? Whatever the heck the lyrics are really about, I can’t deny the absolute power of the song’s hook, which grabs me, handclaps and all, and drags me along to the revival. If I’ve got a criticism of A Fine Time, it’s that it’s a blink-and-miss-it EP — the songs aren’t short, really, but they don’t feel as long as they are, possibly due to the light, delicate feel of everything. It feels like it just zips past. And by the time it’s over, I’m ready to hear it again.