Assembling 17 tracks from
Chad & Jeremy's tenure with Britain's Ember imprint,
A Summer Song appears via the storied U.K. label El Records, a connection that officially cements the duo's obvious if egregiously overlooked influence on subsequent generations of indie pop acts from
the Field Mice to
Belle & Sebastian. After all, "A Summer Song" remains the template for every delicate, pastoral folk-pop confection created in its wake, its intimate harmonies and subtle strings at the far point of the same continuum that spans the decades to include
Nick Drake,
Elliott Smith,
the Lucksmiths, and countless other artists clutched to the collective bosom of the hipster nation. Which begs the question of why
Chad & Jeremy aren't afforded the same reverence. Sure, the material here is erratic and occasionally hokey, but songs like "If I Loved You" and "Willow Weep for Me" possess a timeless beauty and radiance that define pop music at its most sophisticated. The reappraisal begins here. ~ Jason Ankeny