Reviews for Breaking The Ground Loop: Demo Universe | Sellout Magazine | Splendid | Not Lame | Ear Candy | Popbang | Live Club UK | Logo Magazine | Alternative Rock Review

Review from Demo Universe February 2006
Date received: February 10, 2004 - Reviewed: February, 2006
A hearty hi-ho and welcome back to DU for Imaginary Bill, one of the premier power-pop bands in New York City, if not the world. I shit you not! Thanks to my procrastination (okay, I know it's way beyond procrastination at this point, gimme a break for cryin' out loud), a billion and one pop critics have already drooled over this 2004 opus; hand me a sponge so I can have the last word: If you like the Beatles, Big Star, Elvis Costello, Matthew Sweet and/or Radiohead circa The Bends (and what kind of pretentious art-mope wouldn't cop to liking at least some of the above?), you will simply adore this CD. This just so tuneful and rocking and smart and fresh and sexy, it doesn't matter a whit how many other bands in the Big Apple and elsewhere are doing similar things — IB does it better than most of them. Blows my frickin' mind that a half-assed band like Clap Hands Say Yeah is headlining Irving Plaza and these guys are still stuck tearing it up at Pianos and the Baggot Inn. I mean, WTF?

Review from Sellout Magazine May 2005
Imaginary Bill, a NYC three-piece, is apparently much bigger in Liverpool, England. It's not hard to hear why. Like a blender of Big Star and The Beatles set on liquefy, the music has big rock riffs that never cover up sugary-sweetness of the tuneful songs. And like the recordings of Liverpool's favorite four sons, it's hard to imagine anybody disliking this disc. It may not be your thing, but you'll still be singing the songs under your breath hours later with a lopsided grin on your face. There's always room for good pop songs that never go out of style. Imaginary Bill is timeless, and as they're almost guaranteed to do well on college radio, deserves the distribution and promotion of a major label. -Brad Filicky

Review from Splendid September 2004
Imaginary bill could almost be two bands. There's the nervous Brit-pop Imaginary bill of "Bleed" and "Hollow" that lays Steve Rouach's sweetly warped, slightly nasal voice over a twitchy battery of guitar, bass and drums. And then there's the jangly, slow Imaginary bill of "Corduroy Dancers" and "Ceasar Romero" that reminds you of upper-tier REM followers like The Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket. Personally, I'd give the advantage to this Brooklyn-based trio's faster power-pop side -- they sound a good deal like such contemporaries as the Insomniacs and the Anderson Council, as well as sixties bands like the Small Faces and The Flamin' Groovies, but with an edge.
On their second full-length album, this Brooklyn-based trio revisits three songs from the Special EP (which we reviewed almost two years ago) and adds seven new ones. They start out strong with "Bleed"'s hard, off-kilter riff, bouncing like an emphatic 4/4 pogo-stick under the syrupy-sweet melody. Rouach's voice is frayed and vulnerable here, like a nice guy about to go off -- and in many ways, it's the anxiety buried under the melody that makes Imaginary bill's work memorable. "Bleed" leads into the equally strong "Crutches", with its insidious "It's so weird without you" chorus and glowing guitar break. "Dim", which comes next, showcases bassist Jed Slattery in a burbling bottom line that fights it out with Paul Revere & and Raiders-style organ blurts. It is, however, the first song where the melody seems a little too easy, a little too hooky, with that sixties AM radio sheen that promises to wear off quickly and leave you wondering what you liked about it. The downtrend continues in "Special", which lays "Lucy in the " shimmering guitars against a whingeing melody that may remind you of Radiohead's "Creep" (a song I credit as the main reason I never got into Radiohead). It's back to Nuggets pop, though, in the excellent "Cookie", which traces the career of the tipsy but game Eva, "trading handshakes for blowjobs."
Late in the album, a pair of gentler songs ("Secretive" and "Corduroy Dancers") cause an audio double take, as all that links these tunes with what went before is Rouach's glam-tinged voice. It's not that they're poor songs or badly performed -- "Corduroy Dancers" is actually quite appealing -- but they're nowhere near as distinctive as the rest of the album. The album closes with another of these songs, "Caesar Romero", with its loungey vocals, stop-start strumming and indie-pop sensitive break-up lyrics. It's fine, but not as good as second-to-last "Hollow". With its staccato groove and octave-leaping chorus, this track defies the easy conventions of what a pop song should be, but still nails pop's essence effortlessly.
Imaginary bill works best with its contradictions showing, happy rhythms supporting not-so-upbeat stories, abrasive riffs under gorgeous harmonic choruses. There's plenty to like about Breaking the Ground Loop, and more to hope for if this band continues to push the envelope. -Jennifer Kelly

Review/Description from Not Lame June 2004
We love what we do and hearing bands like Imaginary bill suddenly pop up on our radar brings into focus the `why` of what Not Lame does. This is guitar-driven power pop, big on hooky, riff-driven incantations, lovely layered vocals over the driving backbeat and relentless `take on all comers` sequencing of the 10 songs here, which is perfect as the album does not over stay its welcome with too much material making each song count. [...] Extremely Highly Recommended!

Review from Ear Candy June 2004
This is some of the most well crafted, catchiest, power pop music I’ve heard in awhile. I love the leadoff track "bleed". It has a real garage pop feel and its tasty opening guitar riff pulls you right in. This is as good and sometimes better than anything Matthew Sweet or Marshall Crenshaw ever released. It has the mandatory Beatles influences but with a Big Star/Alex Chilton edge to it. Lots of interesting things going on here. Check it out, you won’t be sorry. -J.R. Oliver

Review from Popbang May 2004
It's been 4 years since their debut CD, and they make a more than welcome return with "Breaking The Ground Loop". Their Weezer/Beatles/Splitsville/Radiohead sound is top notch, and this album is thick with winning tracks. Imaginary bill is miles ahead of all of the self proclaimed emo bands saturating the radio waves today. There must be a place for this band. Really really good stuff. -Popbang

Review from Live Club UK March 2004
A preview of the full release of their album. Breezy pop punk with some terrific rhythmic crunch and crackling vocals on opener ‘Bleed’. Not all the other tracks are quite as instantly impressive, however ‘Dim’ rather merges into ‘Special’, undercutting the qualities of both. However, there is plenty of other good stuff here. ‘Cookie’, with its "She’s trading her handshakes for blowjobs" line, is like a scene from Footballer’s Wives. Was yer filthy mouths out. Overall, a solid effort, with one or two outstanding moments, as on ‘Corduroy Dancers’, or ‘Caesar Remeo’, though I’m still most taken with the set opener.

Review from Logo Magazine March 2004
Imaginary bill are constantly compared with The Beatles, those doing the comparisons conveniently overlooking the fact that the intervening years have given us the likes of Big Star, The Posies, Guided By Voices, Fountains Of Wayne and Weezer. It is into that lineage that Imaginary bill should be placed, and they’re a perfect fit. Power-pop, indie-pop, call it what you will, where ‘Breaking The Ground Loop’ scores is in adding imagination to a tired, over-exposed template. It’s no stretch to imagine ‘Charles M.’ underscoring a happy ending in ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’, while ‘Ceasar Romero’ could soundtrack a thousand break-up scenes. They use their imagination so you don’t have to. -Cliff Roberts

Review from Alternative Rock Review November 2003
Despite hailing from New York, three-piece band Imaginary bill have a surprisingly heavy British influence, hints of Beatles, 90s Britpop (Oasis, Supergrass) and even some Dandy Warhols (OK I cheated, the last one wasn't a British influence). Formed in 1999, Imaginary bill have been causing quite a stir on the indie scene, just check out the band website for countless media reviews. And in my possession I have the forthcoming 'Breaking The Ground Loop' CD - boasting "Special Advanced Copy" on the CD label. The album doesn't even have an album inlay yet so I typed out the track listing at the beginning of this review so I can remember what these songs are called.
Anyway, getting to the point, each song specialises in jangly, upbeat pop rock, not a million miles away from emo-kings Weezer, but with a Lemonhead breezy feel. It took me a while to get the songs into my head as there aren't any in your face moments that scream their presence known, more a slow burner that lets it's quality sneak up unannounced. Straight away, I found the catchiest hook on the entire album to be the guitar rhythm to 'Caesar Romero', a laid back number stripped to its core, and on the other end of the spectrum is 'Cookie', a pop-tastic melody drenched single if there was one, and every time I hear 'Charles M' I'm reminded of The Dandy Warhol's 'Every Day Should Be A Holiday', the similarities in the vocals are uncanny. I haven't even mentioned 'Bleed' yet; with its prominent and abrasive riff or the yearning 'Corduroy', an unhurried saunter through REM territory. I could describe every single track on 'Breaking The Ground Loop', as they are quite easy to bring metaphors in mind. In summation, the hooks are in place, it's easy on the ear and the ideal album to listen to whilst chilling with a beer. Now if that isn't an encouragement, I don't know what is. -Nick Collings