Way back yonder in September of 2005, I wrote these statements of The Click Five’s debut album, Greetings From Imrie House:
“Mark my words: this will be remembered as one of the catchiest albums released in 2005. Sugary sweet though it may be – and we’re talking the potential to deliver a mouthful of cavities with every track – it nonetheless has some of the strongest hooks in recent memory. Throw your caution and indie cred to the wind; guilty pleasures don’t come any better than this.”
I stand by these statements…but I admit, when I recently saw these words appear on the band’s website, they gave me pause:
“CLICK THIS! AND GUESS THE NEW SINGER OF THE CLICK FIVE! That’s right, The Click Five has a new lead singer. Can you pick the new member out of a crowd? Choose correctly and be entered to win a trip for 2 to the filming of the new Click Five Video.”
Wow, really? A new lead singer after only one album…? What’s that about?
Well, this is the only official comment from the band, released back in March:
“Hey Everyone! We hope you are all doing great! We are excited to announce that we have brought on a new singer. After several years of playing together we have decided to part ways with Eric. We know he will be missed by many and we wish him the best success in his other endeavors. All that said, things are getting very exciting for The Click Five! Get ready because the first single off our sophomore record will be hitting the airwaves within the next month, and we’ll be revealing the new singer as soon as we get some hot topless shots of him for you! Changes come with the seasons and we are excited that this Spring is going to be the rebirth of everything we love about music. We’ll see you in your city soon!”
Hmmm. The fact that they decided to part ways with him makes me all the more suspicious about how pre-packaged these guys are.
As far as the difference between old singer and new…well, based on the group’s new single, “Jenny” – which, frankly, could well be the best 99 cents you spend on iTunes today if you’re a fan of glossy ’80s-styled keyboard-driven pop-rock – I think I might actually like the new dude better. I mean, nothing against Eric Dill, but this new guy…whoever he is…definitely has a more powerful voice. It might be a little more generic-sounding – Dill’s was higher and more instantly recognizable – but it’s definitely more of a mainstream pop voice that meshes with the material very nicely. I’m psyched to hear the whole thing, to be sure.
Oh, and if you’re curious as to his current whereabouts, Dill has his own MySpace page, where he’s premiered two solo songs that sound right in line with the last Click Five album, which ain’t a bad thing by any means.
