Tracks
The Explorers Club: "Do You Love Me?"
(2008)
By David Greenwald | 12 March 2008
“Do You Love Me?,” the first single from the Explorers Club’s forthcoming debut, plays in the pre-Pet Sounds sandbox of Today! and Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)-era Beach Boys. It chugs along with a knockoff Chuck Berry guitar riff, backing singers provide lush, gorgeous harmonies, and a lead singer bursts into clarion falsetto—all in the service of young love. “I told you, take the time you need / but I just can’t wait no more,” songwriter and arranger Jason Brewer sings, echoing the sentiments of classics like “God Only Knows.”
I know you’ve heard critics cry Brian Wilson before, but trust me—this is the real deal. I’ve never heard a band so completely inhabit the sound and style of another band, nor do so without being, well, derivative. The Explorer’s Club don’t sound like copycats—they could be the Beach Boys. And on songs such as this one, they’re nearly as good.