Conner - Hello Graphic Missile

Conner - Hello Graphic Missile
(2006, Sonic Boom Recordings)

The comparisons and likenesses applied to the Lawrence, Kansas quartet Conner are true and accurate but at the same time somewhat misleading. They do belong in the same bullpen as The Strokes, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand and dozens of other danceable rock revivalists. The mislead is that, while most of their compatriates are all forced swagger and no substance, Conner skips the posturing and just delivers damn good songs. The swaggering coolness is just gravy.
Compiling the best tracks from the band's first two self released albums, Hello Graphic Missile is Conner's first attempt to reach a national audience. Soundwise, the influences vary from T-Rex to Gang of Four to a little bit of Rolling Stones boiled down into modern indie rock structures. Phil Bonahoom's plump basslines bounce along with Bryce Boley's no-nonsense dance/rock beats. The guitars, provided by Tom Wagner and James Duft, marry straightforeward riffage with memorable melodies for a result that is complex but never degenerating into art-wank. Duft's vocals are certainly affected in that Brit Glam / New Wave fashion that The Strokes brought back into vogue.
The initial gut reaction to Conner may be to dismiss them as another face in the crowd of an already overpopulated sub-genre but there is honestly something more to this band. Conner proves that style doesn't necessarily have to mean formula. A band can have a definite sound and still do more than one thing. What it all comes down to is that Conner offers a joyful affirmation of everything that is right about the whole dancey/rock/new wave revival thing. What's more, they're better than most of their fellows and as good as the best.