Locksley

Though the Click Five were initially pitched as a marriage between modern chart pop and the classic power pop sound of Badfinger or the Raspberries, they ended up (despite the songwriting involvement of Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger) coming across as fakey and processed as a quintet of Ashlee Simpsons with guitars and matching suits. At first glance, the Brooklyn quartet Locksley raises similar alarms, down to the unfortunate fondness for identical outfits in their promo photos, but in their case, their fondness for the Kinks, Beatles, and pre-Tommy Who comes across in their spirited indie rock updating of the classic British Invasion sound. The four members of Locksley went to high school together in Madison, WI. After graduation, lead guitarist Kai Kennedy, rhythm guitarist Jesse Laz, bassist Aaron Collins, and drummer Sam Bair (in the grand old traditions of band democracy and multi-part harmonies, all four members sing) moved from Wisconsin to the more artistically friendly climes of Brooklyn and began work on their debut album. The band self-released Safely from the City in the summer of 2004. The follow-up EP, Locksley, was released in 2005 on the Light Brigade label, featuring the single and video "Don't Make Me Wait," which helped gain the group an opening slot on OK Go's national tour. In the summer of 2006, a new single, "Why Can't I Be You?" (not the 1987 Cure hit of the same title), received wider exposure when its video won the polling on an episode of The Freshmen, a battle-of-the-bands show on Viacom's college-oriented digital cable channel mtvU, making Locksley the first unsigned band to win that honor. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide