At last -- a new Detroit-garage band that comes in colors. Got What We Want was cut in 2001 with a different lineup, but it affirms what I saw at recent Sight-ings in Texas and New York: Guitarist Eddie Baranek sings like he has a good case of Badfinger and writes with the R&B concision of '65 Motown, while the pools of mellotron and circus organ in "Don't Want You Back" and "Sorry Revisited" carry the '68 stamp of the day-glo Pretty Things and Michigan's own forgotten SRC.

Anyone who thought Detroit's rock'n'roll production line was in danger of seizing up for another 20 years in the wake of The White Stripes is in for a real shock when they hear this.

The Sights are four 20-something kids fronted by the sharpy talented Eddie Baranek. Despite their comparative youth, this is already their second album following on from 1999's rough and ready 'Are You Green?'

Still, what a difference a couple of years can make. 'Got What We Want' is a revelation - a treasure trove of sparky and wildly immediate songwriting. Taking its cue from scuzzed '60s beatpop, it manages to cram echoes of Supergrass, The Who and (soon-to-be-hip-again) '70s rockers Humble Pie into its 11 tracks. It's the coolest and most accomplished rock'n'roll record to come out of Detroit since 'White Blood Cells'.

by Bryan Thomas

Got What We Want is a melodically complex and accomplished album, and ample evidence that this young band from Detroit have a tacit understanding of what made primal sixties garage-rock and early seventies power pop so exhilarating and memorable in the first place. Not only do the Sights seem like they've educated themselves with repeated listenings to albums from a Rock History 101 syllabus, but they have an audible confidence and forcefulness that one usually only finds in a band who've been playing together for many years. Indeed, they have: Eddie Baranek (vocals/guitars) and Mark Leahey (bass/vocals) have been making music together since 1995, when both were classmates at DeLaSalle Collegiate High in Detroit. In October 2001 -- a few short months before they were to enter Ghetto Recorders to record this sophomore effort for L.A.'s Fall of Rome -- Baranek and Leahey made the decision to replace longtime bandmate Eugene Strobe (now playing with the Witches and the Alphabet) with a new drummer, Dave Shettler (ex-Moods For Moderns). This last-minute switch-out might have slowed the band's momentum, but now seems to have renewed their resolve to successfully accomplish the task at hand. Consequently, Got What We Want is a concentrated and well-produced group effort with strong and varied songs. The super-charged power pop numbers -- "Don't Want You Back", "Be Like Normal", "Sweet Little Woman" -- are rife with crunchy guitars, catchy percussive elements and memorable hooks. Meanwhile, the title song, "Got What We Want", and the last track, "Nobody", recall the bombastic heaviosity of Mott the Hoople, Humble Pie and Led Zeppelin at their most glorious. The main riff from the blues-soaked "Nobody", in fact, plays like an homage to Zeppelin's "How Many More Times?" (the song -- with lyrics purloined from Albert King's "The Hunter" -- may have also provided the Sights with their moniker). There's also an enjoyable assortment of keyboards on the album; drummer Dave Shettler contributed Hammond organ and swirling mellotron (in March 2002, the Sights added organist Nate Cavalieri to their lineup). The fathoms deep Got What We Want should provide the Sights with a promising and (hopefully) propitious future once the world discovers its many treasures.

The city of Detroit has birthed more garage-rock-oriented bands in the past few years than a horny queen buzzing about a beehive. And surprisingly, while most of these bands are frantically trying to jump on the perpetually over-hyped retro bandwagon, Detroit’s The Sights have been developing their rock ‘n’ roll swagger for quite some time. Simply put, The Sights have studied their rock ‘n’ roll history with acute eyes (and ears), and it shows on their sophomore release, Got What We Want, in leaps and bounds. With new drummer Dave Shettler and the strength of singer/guitarist Eddie Baranek’s glorious songwriting, The Sights have become the fully realized power-pop tornado we all knew they would become, even back when they had to skip out on gigs early to wake up for school the next morning. Sure, everything from The Jam, Humble Pie, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones is referenced here; but with this record, The Sights have climbed to the top of the D’s rock heap, hoisted up their guitars, and have proclaimed themselves kings.

Reason to Buy: Sub Pop, here they come!

Best Listening Experience: “Be like Normal” and its go-go sway.

Ha ha! I know I should probably be talking about the music, but I gotta admit, the first thing I noticed about this disc was the ridiculous picture of one the band members trying to imitate his cat’s facial expression on the CD traycard, which is just begging to be lampooned in this mag’s 9mm Photoshoot column.

Once I actually got around to popping the CD in the player, the first band that came to mind was Cheap Trick. The two bands don’t sound especially alike, it’s just that The Sights, like Cheap Trick, so deftly combine the raw, sleazy swagger of classic Stones with the sterling pop sensibilities of the Beatles. Usually Beatles vs. Stones is an either/or, but in some cases, such as this one, the two can comfortably cohabitate. Or, if that’s not obscure and record-geeky enough, how’s this sound: "Think Girlfriend-era Matthew Sweet meets The Action meets Deram-era Small Faces"?

Seriously though, Got What We Want is chock-a-block full of catchy pop tunes without all of the rough edges filed off, which means it’ll probably be too rock for the Elephant 6 crowd (they do, after all, spend quite a bit of closer "Nobody" threatening to break into Zep’s "How Many More Times") but too pop for the In The Red/Estrus gee-rage folk. I hope I’m wrong ’cause this is pretty much end-to-end terrific, but if I am right, well, it’s their loss, so fuck ’em.

Already a favorite among reviewers across the country, The Sights are going to blow everyone away with this album. Got What We Want is a mindblowing collection of frenzied, head-expanding pop music that will revive your senses and stay permanently embedded in your consciousness. This is a "hit" record in the truest sense of the word. All of the tunes are direct hits. The energetic performances on this album present a trio (actually now a quartet) who have just hit their prime. The band consists of guitarist/vocalist/main songwriter Eddie Baranek, drummer Dave Shettler, bassist Mark Leahey, and organist Nate Cavalieri. Baranek combines the best elements of pop/rock from the 1960s on through to the present...and makes them his own. This band's tunes possess a jolt that is sadly missing from many of today's popular bands. Songs like "Don't Want You Back," "Sorry Revisited," "Last Chance," and "Nobody" will be spinning repeatedly in the minds and CD players of pop fans worldwide. Expect to hear a LOT about these guys in the very near future...as they are definitely a cut above the rest. Superb. (Rating: 5+)

Detroit kids the Sights break that city's mold a bit by eschewing the strictly gearhead-fueled garage rock and looking a little deeper into the sixties for inspiration. A trio of mop-haired, very young men, the Sights combine the best of California's psychedelic pop with mod, a little sixties punk rock and a whole lotta hook power. The band's second release, "Got What We Want" (Fall of Rome Records), benefits from the production of Jim Diamond (Mr. Detroit producer guy), who helped them find an even keel between strict revivalism with modern songwriting acumen. Blah blah blah. This record is just plain fun, from the bouncy, sugar-crusted opener "Don't What You Back" to the punchy and almost heavy title track to purified sixties organ-air of "Sweet Little Woman." Anyone into straight rock music with its tongue buried firmly in the sixties won't leave disappointed.

fufkin.com

by Mike Bennett

In the 18 months or so since their debut record, the young bucks who make up The Sights just keep growing. They sing better, they play better, and, possibly as a result, they write even better. Beyond all that, the band not only seems to know the requisite ‘60s rock and pop moves, they have a feel for true rock and roll.

What really rules about this record is how it manages to encapsulate the entire experience of ‘60s R & B oriented rock in about half-an-hour. From primitive R & R to pop tunes with a beat to bluesy jammers, The Sights cover all bases. So "Sorry Revisited", which is a psychedelic near-drone rubs shoulders with "Be Like Normal" with a straight Mersey dance beat and basic two note guitar riff (played in different keys, for variety, y'know) that carries the tune until the chorus. "Revisted" comes close to territory explored by Photon Band and shows the band's remarkable sophistication. There is an instrumental interlude with a spooky chorus of voices that provides a counterpoint to the heavier verses. "Normal" melds pre-Nuggets crunch with a melody worthy of Ray Davies. Meanwhile, a few songs are more post-Nuggets. "Sick and Tired" falls into a Yardbirds territory, with a back porch blues chord progression and slightly greasy feel. The band doesn't stray too far from rock and roll, and the rousing chorus is not based in any Delta roots. Moving further along, "Nobody" is heavier. Frontman Eddie Baranek shows that he has really been studying the past. This goes more in the direction of early Fleetwood Mac, exploding into a frenzy that is evocative of Humble Pie and early Led Zeppelin. As previously stated, the band's feel for this music is thrilling. These aren't blues rock pretenders -- the smoke and the fury comes through loud and clear. While the exciting blues rock of the late ‘60s morphed into tiresome boogie rock in the ‘70s, the bluesier songs on this disc rekindle the excitement that so many rockers felt circa 1968, taking the blues and giving it a new spin.

That this same band can turn around and make an unabashedly cute ditty as "Everyone's a Poet", and have the same authenticity as when they cut loose -- not many can make the transition from shit hot to Brit pop so seamlessly. In a sense, The Sights are a retro take modern rock expression of the transition from teenager to adult. They are callow enough to pine like a zit-faced kid on the ultra-light pop of "It'd Be Nice (to Have You Around)", while sounding more grown up on "Got What I Want", which is simply lust forcefully expressed in a basic blues fashion.

The final thing that elevates this album to a year-end best of contender is that The Sights never aim for less than the best. Each song doesn't just settle for one nice idea, but is teeming with nifty wrinkles. It's as if each song was designed to get AM (or in the case of the blusier tunes, free form FM) radio play -- concise and catchy. Throw in the passion and enthusiasm, and what more could you want?

These Detroit kids have what you need. This trio’s sophomore release boasts an authoritative distillation of garage rock, psychedelia and prodigious ‘60s-inspired pop. The threesome aren’t old enough to remember their most direct influences (Buzzcocks, early Jam, Cheap Trick) and certainly weren’t around for artists that those bands emulated (early Who, the Kinks, the Beatles). But the Sights have studied hard, educating themselves on super-charged power-pop and have produced a confident, exuberant album that isn’t nearly as derivative as it should be. The Sights’ advantage over like-minded performers such as the White Stripes, the Detroit Cobras and the Dirtbombs is an ability to change up at a drop of a pin. They can snarl like Iggy and the Stooges (the abrasive title track), can resemble Ray Davies (the joyous "It’d Be Nice") and aren’t shy from appropriating lyrics and riffs from blues icons and ‘70s arena rockers. "Sick and Tired" is like Exile on Main Street reduced to a four-minute masterpiece, while "Nobody" recalls classic English hard rock, in particular the ending, which steals some bars from Led Zeppelin’s "How Many More Times" (call it an homage). You shouldn’t lump together the White Stripes, Hives or the Strokes, but if you love those musicians, then Got What We Want is for you. Grade: A

Montreal Mirror

by Lorraine Carpenter

Joining the fray of shaggy-headed ’60s-mongers, this Detroit quartet is the newest and youngest to emerge from the hot rock city scene. With noted producer Jim Diamond at the helm, the Sights get all macho on our ass with muscular garage riffs and songs about head, but are equally quick to tackle Herman’s Hermits sweetness (“It’d Be Nice”), Beach Boys piano-plonkin’ pop (“Everyone’s a Poet”), trippy rawkage (“Be Like Normal”) and bluesy laments (“Sick and Tired”). Flawed but fun, these are kids to look out for come album 3. 7/10

High Bias

by Michael Toland

Bleed Music

by Stu Egan

The Sights hail and wail from Detroit. You might have heard of it.

For me it almost drowned them with preconceptions before the first listen (which upsets me, yet I suppose without some preconceptions – of the arts at least – we’d all spend too much time wading through bad music, watching moronic, insulting TV, and paying to sit through Tom Hanks films).

Yet on the whole The Sights do sound different to most of their Detroit contemporaries, and also on occasion succeed by tapping into the same furious and righteous passion that has coloured the music of the Motor City’s better bands recently. (Final track here, which counts for about a fifth of the 35 minute playing time, is as good as anything Jack White’s written).

But let’s be linear about this. Play pressed, the album begins with “Don’t Want You Back”; the guitars fizzle with “DETROIT”, the drums and bass rumble “MICHIGAN” and the instant reaction is a mix of jaded anticipation. But detached, arrogant listening can be shattered very quickly. All it takes is a noise, a lyric, something out of the ordinary, and the extremely saccharin melodies that appear here were certainly unexpected. Its sweet harmonies, Phil Spector sleigh bells, backwards effects; then with “Be Like Normal” (two songs in) the first killer chorus appears. The Sights are obsessed with the poppier side of 60s psychedelia and garage, free of the dangerous, outlaw element of bands like The Sonics, ? And The Mysterians or the 13th Floor Elevators, but filled instead with the beautiful melodies of The Zombies.

The sweeping organ-led “Sorry Revisited” is next (Eddie Baranek’s lyrics and song titles are introspective, complaint rock yet at least he deals with definites) and it becomes apparent The Sights are great at knocking out 2-minute pop songs. Last year’s excellent single “Say Say” showed promise that is more than fulfilled here. “It’d Be Nice (To Have You Around)” echoes the Beach Boys in its arrangement, but suffers as it brings up memories of countless dull 60s groups bashing away at their instruments with cheesy grins and McCartney head wobbling.

Despite not being indicative of the rest of the album, the best moment by far is the White Stripes-esque aforementioned final track, “Nobody”, which stops and starts and yelps and rocks in all the right places. It’s exhilarating, and a fine end to proceedings. Stop pressed, and mild distraction has given way to complete attention.

Good pop music will never go out of style and living proof of this is the young Detroit trio The Sights. Crafting catchy pop hooks into songs that have you singing along is their specialty. “Got What We Want” is the second effort from this threesome, and they have come a long way from their debut offering, Are You Green. The ‘60s pop flavor that first caught my ears is still there, but occasionally wanders away into ‘70s explorations on this record. The song “It’d Be Nice (To Have You Around)” is one of stand-out tracks here, reminiscent of a Beach Boys-style pop tune. “Everyone’s A Poet” recalls U.K. popsters Jellyfish. On most of the eleven tracks one can clearly hear the influences and inspirations behind the band, but they turn this into their own style. While it’s almost impossible these days for any young band to not sound familiar, The Sights wear their appreciation for music past well. The pacing of the album was the only thing that caught me off guard, changing direction every other song didn’t flow as well as it should have, but overall, the album shines. Keep an eye on The Sights.

If you missed the Sights, one of our favorite pop groups, a few weeks back with the Detroit Cobras and Dirtbombs, redeem yourself this Sun., Aug. 18, at Mercury Lounge. They’re young and cute, and their new Got What We Want (Fall of Rome) offers lotsa raunchy chords and lyrics about past relationships and wooing girls. Think the Small Faces mixed with the likable pop heroes Superdrag.