The Strawberry Teardrop takes off where Steve Lucas’ fab Pubert Brown Fridge Occurrence from the early ‘00s left off. It’s a pared-down studio line-up - a trio with Lucas handling vocals, bass and guitar, helped out by drummer Levin Franco and percussionist Herbie Mayhem - but the single’s ’60s garage-psych origins are patently obvious.
A side “Love On The Run” couples a knowing Lucas vocal to a basic rocker that plods a little and takes a while to get out of second gear. Perhaps this one could have done with some extra trimmings. B side lead-off “Corporate Girl” switches the mood to fuzz guitar snarl with chunky chording and a straight-up backbeat pushing Lucas’ ready-for-the-weekend vocal to the front. More than a little bit of alright.
“They Took My Baby From Me” breaks out of the garage and onto an early ‘70s festival stage with blustering guitar and a bloodied but not beaten vocal dragging us through a bluesy lament. There’s a touch of Lucas’ ‘90s band A.R.M. about this and it’s well-worth tracking down. There's enough in these songs to suggest an album would be a winner.
