NuDisc

With an era-appropriate band name, PEARL HARBOR AND THE EXPLOSIONS burst out of the late ’70s San Francisco rock scene with a slick, eponymous debut album that epitomized what “new wave” sounded like. Pearl Harbor and the Explosions was, indeed, the sole LP by the band. Warner Bros. put it out in 1980 and here in 2019, courtesy of Blixa Sounds, we have a tidy little reissue with bonus single and live tracks.

Pearl Harbor – who once went by the name Pearl E. Gates – formed the group after landing in San Fran from Germany (she’s of Filipino descent), joining an existing band called Leila & the Snakes and working with the Tubes. The experience led her to think that what she really needed to do was form a group of her own. She did so, changed her surname to Harbor, and issued the band’s debut single on SF’s indie 415 Records label. “Drivin’” b/w “Release It” earned enough local note and airplay to catch the ear of the A&R folks in Burbank and soon the band’s debut album was recorded and released. Both tracks were re-recorded for the nine track album, which also included the single “Up and Over” and “Get a Grip on Yourself” (not a cover of The Stranglers’ similarly titled tune). The four-piece band had a sound at once familiar and just modern enough to stand out. Peter Bilt’s twangy Tele guitar licks were clean ’n’ cutting, while the Stench Brothers contributed a tight rhythm foundation – perfect for Harbor’s slightly Lene Lovich-esque vocals. “Drivin’” and “You Got It (Release It)” are the best known songs from the album, and have appeared on numerous compilations on Rhino and other labels (such as 1994’s Just Can’t Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the ’80s, Vol. 3).

Altogether, Pearl Harbor and the Explosions is a neat little encapsulation of what the era’s upstart bands sounded like, whether from the Bay Area or some other new wave enclave. The sound hasn’t aged too badly, and this reissue is a perfect one to put on even if you’re only drivin’.

3/5 (Blixa Sounds ETA 820, 2019)