Few bands have sparked the kind of visceral response for me as Birmingham, AL’s Carnival Season did – about 20 years after the fact I might add, but this is sincerely a case of better late than never. I discovered Carnival Season by way of their long out-of-print Waiting For No One LP at Power Pop Criminals. It’s still available for download, and is a must if this triple-shot moves you in the least. Imagine if some unseen force melded the strongest facets of Tommy Keene and Tim-era Replacements, with the thrust of Husker Du for good measure, and you’ll have a keen understanding of where this trio was coming from. Chords and hooks to die for, that will have you begging not to be sent to heaven any time soon. “Please Don’t Send Me to Heaven” also appeared in slightly remixed form on Waiting, while the other two tracks are exclusive to this release.

A 2007 reunion show can be downloaded here. There has been talk of a Carnival Season reissue on Arena Rock Recording Co, but firm details have yet to surface. Would really love to see it happen, as neither of their releases have made it to CD yet. Guitarist Tim Boykin went on to helm to other power poppin’ bands of note, the Shame Idols and The Lolas. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.