Back in the late '90s when the
Four Dots compilation graced my cd player for what seemed like months, one of the unknown quantities on that disk,
Five Gears in Reverse, took up five minutes of glorious space in the shape of their contribution "Apathetic Regimen." Around that time, I learned they had several cassette releases under their belt, but alas, I was too lazy and/or cash strapped to mailorder them. Conveniently for me, someone was selling a couple of their tapes on EBay earlier this year and I was in luck. Despite calling Bellingham, WA home base, Five Gears didn't exude any resemblance to the Posies, or hometown boys done good, Death Cab for Cutie. Nonetheless, they operated squarely in indie pop confines, penning whip smart lyrical observations couple with hooks to die for. No hipster smokescreen to boot I might add. If you're looking for a RIYL shortlist, Five Gears would be in excellent company with Zumpano, Thrush Hermit, Pond and even
Blue album-era Weezer, judging by the colossal guitar crunch infiltrating "Menage a Trois." A full length cd,
You're Not Asking the Right Questions, materialized in 2000. In addition to
Trailer I also have a 5GIR cassette of Christmas songs, but I know there's at least one or two more tapes out there, so if any of you have a line on them please get in touch.
01. Spinning Ellipses
02. About Sound
03. Menage a Trois
04. Dakota
05. Apathetic Regimen
06. Eyesight
https://rapidshare.com/files/1126117414/5ivegears_trailer.rar
