Black Bubblegum

Washington D.C. native and multi-instrumentalist John Davis has been performing, writing, and recording punk and pop for over a decade. His third project so far, Title Tracks, just released their debut album on Brooklyn label Ernest Jenning Record Co.

From 1998 to 2000, Davis drummed and co-wrote in the much-revered and sorely missed D.C. dance-punk group Q and Not U, who released three albums and several EPs on stalwart D.C. punk label Dischord. In 2006 Davis picked up a guitar and paired with friend and singer/songwriter Laura Burhenn to form the pop duo Georgie James, which released a record on Saddle Creek in 2007.

Tracks emerged in 2008 from the rubble of the bittersweet break up of Georgie James. With only a two song seven-inch released on Dischord, Title Tracks began sharpening and filling out their live set. It Was Easy is as anticipated a release in D.C. as it is in the larger indie rock stratosphere. Drawing upon time spent in the angrier, angular Q and Not U and the more polished and peppy Georgie James, Davis has achieved a perfect equilibrium between dark and light on It Was Easy.

The record features upbeat and chorus-driven songs that could be taken for pure cheer were the listener to disregard lyrical content. Davis questions the need for friends or even love on the album’s title track. The Ted Leo-esque “Every Little Bit Hurts” pairs a jovial chorus with lyrics that proclaim exactly that: it hurts when things don’t work out. Reverb-tinged guitars shimmer over warm organs and a taut rhythm section, but the mood is far from sunny.

Other highlights include the punk-pop gems “Found Out” and “Steady Love,” perfectly crafted doses of anxious energy that nod to 1970s greats like the Jam and the Buzzcocks. Any Q and Not U fan could tell you Davis is not one to be bound by genre, and songs on It Was Easy implement soul and funk (“Hello There”) as well as roots reggae (“No, Girl”).

Davis’ other gig is DJing a show on indie radio giant WOXY. Perhaps as a result of the writer’s rock savant status, It Was Easy contains two well chosen cover songs: a spartan arrangement of Springsteen’s “Tougher Than the Rest” and an indie rocked version of “She Don’t Care About Time” by the Byrds. Aside from one sax part and a vocal cameo by Camera Obscura’s Tracyanne Campbell on two cuts, Davis writes and performs all the instrumentation on the record himself--an impressive feat considering how well the album blends together.

When playing live, Title Tracks consists of a stellar line-up featuring musicians with as much punk pedigree as Davis. Michael Cotterman, a veteran of Philly hardcore bands Kid Dynamite and The Loved Ones, is on bass duty. Andrew Black, formerly of skate punk greats The Explosion, mans the drum kit. Nick Andersen plays guitar on tour, and he also has a producing credit for It Was Easy.

Title Tracks plays the kind of sophisticated, literate, and hook-filled punk that becomes harder and harder to find as the UK’s Class of 1977 punk legacy (Clash, Jam, Buzzcocks) recedes further into the annals of musical consciousness. Some artists today are continuing to make worthwhile music in the genre (Ted Leo, The Thermals, Max Levine Ensemble) but often it is a one among many scenario. If you are unfamiliar with the punk of days gone by, you might mistake It Was Easy for a pop record. To those who can remember how punk sounded when it started, this debut from Title Tracks certainly warms the heart.