The Contrast are a powerpop band that comes all the way from Peterborough, England. They were formed in 1999, and have released six albums. Perfect Disguise is their latest, and their first album with Little Steven's Wicked Cool records. They have been a regular staple of the Underground Garage, and have been described as one of the coolest bands in the world. The album is a compilation of material from their back-catalogue, including previously unreleased tracks. The Contrast play a brand of short and addictive sonic candy, and it's hard to stop listening.

[From The Electric Boogie Show: The Contrast "Perfect Disguise"]

The Contrast, Perfect Disguise: Introducing the Contrast ****
While the Contrast haven't moved enough merchandise either at home in the U.K. or across the pond in the States to truly merit a "greatest-hits" album, Little Steven Van Zandt is enough of a fan to think they deserve one anyway, and one or two spins of Perfect Disguise: Introducing the Contrast, compiled for Van Zandt's Wicked Cool Records label, is enough to convince nearly anyone that the guy has a valid point. Featuring choice cuts from the Contrast's first five albums, Perfect Disguise: Introducing the Contrast is a near-perfect amalgamation of jangle pop melodies, indie rock attitude, and new wave guitar heroics (if Tom Verlaine and Peter Buck had a baby, the kid would play a lot like Contrast brainchild David Reid). These 14 songs don't exactly shy away from the band's obvious influences, but the energy and power of the group's attack are fresh and invigorating, and "Caught in a Trap," "Believe," and "Disconnected" really do sound like hit singles, with irresistible hooks and choruses to die for. It's arguable if this collection really needed two versions of both "Mystery" and "Perfect Disguise," but the songs show enough variety in electric and acoustic form to show just how strong these tunes are and that they can take on different shapes and still shine brightly. Most fans of smart pop and contemporary garage rock probably aren't all that familiar with the Contrast (at least not in the United States), and Perfect Disguise is an ideal introduction to a fine, woefully underrated band that truly delivers the goods.
~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

The Contrast, Perfect Disguise: Introducing the Contrast (Wicked Cool Records)

This guitar-worshipping quartet released their first full-length on Rainbow Quartz in 2000, a year or so after forming, and have studiously submitted four albums since then. Perfect Disguise culls from the first four and adds a few new and unreleased tracks for good measure.

The Contrast are not a group likely to make you sell all of your worldly possessions and pursue the RocknRoll Life, but they will serve to remind you that there’s a lot of good music that goes years without getting any sort of the attention it deserves.

If you don’t like big guitars, this band is not yours. There are driving leads (“Mask”) and rhythm growls straight out of Fables of the Reconstruction (“Can’t Stand the Light”) and the melodies soar, even when melancholia takes the wheel. Towering choruses are the modus operandi, but nothing ever seems to eclipse David Reid’s lyrics. While it would be unfair to compare Reid to Peter Case or Paul Westerberg – they are three distinct writers with distinct gifts – his lyrics tend to recall a less bitter Westerberg, conveying the same palpable disgust of the teenage wasteland and all of its perpetrators.

No single territory of Reid’s vocal range goes unexplored, and his tone is clean without sounding trained, which is emblematic of the band itself. The Contrast are unabashed pop-smiths, not as calculated as Spoon and closer to REM than Big Star (the REM comparison is obvious but unavoidable) with a more an adequate tutelage of Plimsouls style. They have the sound they want, lean into it all the way, and their refined instincts keep the canvas from wearing thin. They may not blow your mind, but they’ll serve as a reminder that rocking pop music is always scratching at the dismal surface of the mainstream.

The Contrast could be the first great 21st century power-pop band, and with any luck, this compilation will help them reach the audience who are going to feel a little cheated when they find that the great new music they’ve been waiting for has been waiting for them since the turn of the millennium. – Chris Henderson

houstonpress.com
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2008/04/reverberations_amplified_heat.php

Technorati Tags: The Contrast

8. The Contrast - Caught In A Trap

Another English band, The Contrast were formed back in 1999 and have since released six albums. Describing themselves as a guitar power pop band, the band released last November an excellent compilation entitled 'Perfect Disguise : Introducing The Contrast', which is an excellent start for anybody interested in hearing more of this band. Available on their site along with a t-shirt for $16, that should be everybody with an interest in hearing good music.

[From Thundercrack Playlist]

The Contrast "Perfect Disguise"

Wicked Cool CD - www.wickedcoolrecords.com

Almost ignored in their home country, Peterborough’s The Contrast have been quietly producing classy, stylish guitar pop for a while now. An REM comparison immediately springs to mind; Reid is not a plagiarist or imitator – far from it – but his wistful vocal and the well done backing vocals are the connection to early REM, or, to be precise, to bands who inhabited similar musical territory. The UK’s Harbour Kings (previously Rollin’ Thunder) and the USA’s Jolene spring to mind. What all the aforementioned bands share is an ability to create songs that are “strangely strange but still normal”. The 16 tunes here have plenty of soaring melodic choruses and hooks aplenty, but without being at all “experimental” or “arty” they sidestep conventional song structures and patterns, heading off in unpredictable directions that never seem jerky or too clever. The title tune, ‘Believe’ and ‘How To Tell’ are cases in point; beguiling and adult power pop for the 21st century. There are some stand-alone pop songs here but the album works best as a whole, allowing the songs to blend into one another. I can’t always guess where David Reid is coming from, but I just know I like it!

- Phil Suggitt – Shindig magazine (March-April issue 2008)

The Contrast, Perfect Disguise (out this week): I have raved about this British band before, but this compilation provides the ideal introduction to their unique sonic delights. Their music clearly pays homage to the '60s, but it doesn't really sound like any particular British band of the period, nor is it classifiable as garage-rock, because singer David Reid's voice is too smooth and cultured. But the contrast between the crackling guitar riffs and velvety vocal tones is immensely appealing, and the intense hookiness of the tunes enhances matters. My closest comparison is the Bevis Frond minus the long guitar extrapolations, but that's so obscure that I'd just advise you to sample a few tracks and see if you're not instantly captivated.
- Ken Barnes – USA Today – Feb 2008
http://blogs.usatoday.com/listenup/