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Album Details

• Artist: Gigolo Aunts
• Album: Pacific Ocean Blues
• Label: Q Division
• Year of Release: 2003
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2004-09-14

I know a lot of people may have thought the Gigolo Aunts had dropped off the face of the earth but they are indeed still plugging away at the music thing for their hardcore fans. If you remember, they had a semi-hit with "Where I Find My Heaven" that was featured on the Dumb and Dumber soundtrack. I was a fan long before that time and I know a lot of other fans have been around longer than me. Flippin Out was their foray into the major label arena and the one that the movie gods culled 'Heaven' from. They somehow faded away into obscurity once again releasing a few EPs on various small labels, notably Learn To Play Guitar. It was Adam Duritz of Counting Crows that picked them up and offered them a deal on his vanity label. This is where Minor Chords and Major Themes came into play. For reasons undisclosed the band chose to go with Q Division for this album even though it was recorded in the Counting Crows studio. There are only a few really upbeat tracks like the awesome opener "Hello", "Maybe The Change Will Do Us Good" and the closer "Long Scattered Dreams". The band makes the move for some more heartfelt tracks and they come off very good. One of the mellowest tracks on the album is the title track. It is a beautiful bittersweet ballad that shows these guys have hearts. "Mr. Tomorrow" is one of the couple songs that would have fit nicely on Flippin Out. It's power pop at its finest. Another stand out is one called "Let Go". It has some of the catchiest hooks ever heard from the Aunts and it's got horns to boot. One of my favorite pieces is the reprise of "Lay Your Body Down", a gentle piano solo that seems bleak but when delivered like this, you realize the power in the Gigolo Aunts music. Pacific Ocean Blues is a completely different album than Flippin Out but has just as many high points in it. Gibbs and Hurley prove to be a potent power pop songwriting team that will go as long as fans demand.

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