Album Notes

" Where did these guys come from? Before I received their package in the mail I had never heard of WATTS. Not that I'm an authority on every Boston band but come on, there is usually a buzz when something this good gets released in the city. Flash is one of the best debuts of the year by a New England band. I have yet to get tired of listening to it, and I seem to get a little more out of it each time I give it a spin. This here is an album dripping with influences, that very neatly blends them into a very impressive collection of songs. The band proclaims to be huge Beatles fans in their bio, and that is very believable from listening to the songs. They also go on to list Elvis Costello, Clash, T-Rex, David Bowie, Kiss, Pixies, and Sonic Youth as influences. Nice run of bands listed there but let me throw a couple more I heard: REM, Kinks, Cheap Trick and The Jam. Don't get the wrong idea, they don't copy, they are influenced, there is a big difference there. WATTS has very plainly written their own songs here using their influences, but never relying on them. I often found what really was tipping me off to their influences was the spirit of the music, not the music itself.

But lets talk about the songs themselves. I love the first trio of songs, Way Down, Jimmy Walker, and Subterranean Kids on Heroin. All have intense punk attitude and spirit about them, but all are devotedly pop songs. I absolutly love the vocals on this disk, lead singer Dan Kopko has a great voice and it is used terrifically within the songs. This band knows how to write songs, they know how to put all the pieces together. They use harmonies to great success in many songs, Subterranean Kids on Heroin for example. These songs are really impressive.

These are intense power pop songs that harken back to the glam of the early 70's, pop of the 60's, and punk of the late 70's. What a great range. WATTS has fun on this disk. You get the feeling that they made the album they always wanted to make. This sounds authentic, inspired, and despite the aforementioned influences, suprisingly fresh. Can't wait to see what they do next."

The New England Music Archive, December 1998