All About Chad - Down In Front (1995)

Indie pop quartet All About Chad featured guitarist Asif Chaudhri, singer Ben Reiser, bassist Chad Pilieri, and drummer Jason Schreiber. After the release of the "Chad's Very First Record" single on Jeezus Peezus Records in 1991, the Brooklyn band set out to record their debut full-length. 

This That & the Other Thing was released in 1989, and was followed by 1991's The Scouting Party. 1992 saw the unveiling of the quirky Jelly Slide EP. 

They continued in 1993 with the "Chad's Got an Earring" single on It's Only Pop Music Records. Big Pop Records released the band's swan song, Down in Front, in 1995. 

Recorded and produced by the band, the disc showcased the band's endearing brand of indie pop music. The group called it quits soon after, but not before an impressive appearance on March Records' stellar Pop American Style compilation in 1996 with the catchy "Japanese Couple in Reverse.

This album is really nice for a Hanukkah present. I popped it in and "Embarrassing moments" began playing. "The landfill was an embarrassing moment", I thought, making an immediate connection with the band. This song is funny. It starts off with a cool little harmonica rhythm and then the little guy's voice pops on, "She was taller than the tallest building in Quebec and I was higher than the highest dead head watching Star Trek". 

It sounded like a happy love song, that was actually an "everyman" song about thinking about those silly things you used to do when you were a kid like thinking you were so cool. After hearing this one, I ran to my high school yearbook and came to the conclusion that I was a lame ass. However, some things never change, they just get older. 

The dog banged into the cd player, so the next song that popped on was "I know a girl". It's a cutesy little number about a girl that the singer knows. He knows a girl who's pretty cool, who's a little quirky, a little late (getting places), and when he kisses her, it goes a little...like...thissss. End of the song with a pretty little guitar strum ending.

Tracklist

1.  Embarrassing Moments - 2:42

2.  You're Too Popular - 1:35

3.  I Know A Girl - 4:23

4.  Sleepover - 3:08

5.  Kristin - 3:36

6.  Vivien Leigh - 3:54

7.  Meet Me In The Hallway - 3:55

8.  Chad's Driving Me Home - 4:10

9.  That Would Be Ducky - 2:50

10.  Paint Peel - 5:00

11.  I Can't Sleep - 4:34

12.  Chad's Got An Earring - 3:06

13.  Twenty Three Strikes - 2:45

14.  My Sister Hates The Band - 5:04

Label - Bog Pop Records