Chains of Love gets sassy with "You Got It"

"You Got It"/"Black Heart" (Independent)

Featuring various members of local favourites You Say Party, Hard Feelings, and Mode Moderne, the debut 7-inch from Chains of Love, sounds more like a Phil Spector creation than something cooked up by current bands. One part sweetie-pie garage rock and one part smart, sassy disco, “You Got It” opens with a bass line eerily similar to that of “I Can’t Help Myself” by the Four Tops. But when singers Nathalia Pizarro and Rebecca Marie Law Gray start hollering, with crisp guitars, drums, and tambourine dancing alongside them, it becomes clear that this band is also intentionally channelling 1960s pop.

Flip the record over to “Black Heart”, and you’ll find something that’s equally danceable and sweet but belongs in an even earlier era—one where boys asked girls out on dates and no one had sex without a promise ring. “You Got It” is pleasing to the ear, but this tribute to the 1950s is nothing new. Chains of Love sounds like Oakland’s Shannon and the Clams but with a little less guttural punk scruff and a lot more of a polished disco finish. Still, it’s a fun throwback record that will give you something to sing in the shower.