The Lickerish Quartet, Volume One

"Threesome Volume One" is the new 4-track E.P. from three ex-Jellyfish members calling themselves The Lickerish Quartet. That is a lot of math!

With only two records to their name, Jellyfish managed to leave an impression on pop music that can still be heard almost 30 years later. Pop melodies and arrangements drawing from the best of The Beatles, Jeff Lynne and Queen, both "Bellybutton" and "Spilt Milk" remain impossibly original and their influence can be heard on so many pop records released in their wake.

Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Tim Smith, and Eric Dover take the sounds found in their original band, tweak things a bit and what you get on this new E.P. is what I will call gracefully aged Jellyfish.

The harmonies are there, as are the melodies. While the opener "Fadoodle" is just a bit too cute for me, the three songs that follow are absolutely wonderful, especially "Bluebird's Blues," which is a gorgeous mix of every pop hit heard on 70's A.M. radio, and the closer "Lighthouse Spaceship," a song that takes the aforementioned masters of the game--John, Paul, Jeff & Freddie--and serves them up fresh.

The Lickerish Quartet is a fantastic tease for what I hope is soon to come in Volumes Two, Three, Four and more.The E.P. comes out on Friday, May 15th.