News

The High Score Self Titled Lynn Point Music

By John Sewell

Defying the odds, Knoxville's The High Score has once again set the proverbial bar a bit, well, way higher with the release of their third, self-titled album on Lynn Point Records. Sure, Sexy Losers was good, drunken fun: And We Showed Up To Leave upped the ante by delivering deft pop craftsmanship and classic rock sensibilities at full flower. But The High Score seems like an entirely new beast of a band – The music is still raucous and irreverent, but the band seems to have ditched the "band of local misfits that's actually good" motif and started writing songs with a bit more emotional depth. The new album is a Let it Be as compared to the former's Hootenanny, if you get my drift.

The album kicks off with a musical homerun in the form of "New Who." Sounding like a mixture of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" and Tom Petty's "Here Comes My Girl" (Yes, it's that good!), the song establishes a theme that runs through the whole LP: The High Score might not be the most serious guys in the bar, but they're capable of espousing some deep philosophies before drunkenness ensues. "New Who" is so chock full of yearning and unfulfilled dreams. It would make a mid-1970s Bruce Springsteen proud. And that's just the first track.

The High Score continues with several other tracks which, more or less, follow the same template. With flashes of punk intensity, a southern pop approach that recalls Big Star, and an occasional hint of countrified twang, what we have here is a band that sticks to a seemingly simple formula. The thing is, as easy as it might seem, few if any other current bands have the chops and panache to follow this basic recipe and produce such affecting results. There's something, aargh, deep and meaningful about the album that is truly unexplainable. Experience it for yourself.

"this is '80s power guitar, the fun stuff that you can head-bob to while holding a PBR 16-ouncer in a crowded college bar after midnight. Turn up the stereo, turn down the lights, let it rock."

The Houston Press

"When they're not backing up Knoxville-based Americana music great Mic Harrison, the High Score are rockin' in the spirit of Cheap Trick or the baddest bar band on the block."

The Knoxville News Sentinel

"Honestly, how could you go wrong with the High Score? They've got Superdrag's keen sense of melody, Sugar's propensity for lacing pop songs with blistering riffs, and a GBV-ish sort of ragtag charm."

Splendid Ezine

"This is a wonderful, promising debut from a band that understands rock n roll rather than one attempting to imitate it"

Southeast Live

Tour Dates