With no label to fund them, no global audience to fuel them, and -- according to the album's most explicit track -- no die-hard groupies to, erm, befriend them, Prabir the Substitutes are one of America's numerous under-the-radar bands working on a shoestring budget. The story line is familiar to anyone who's dreamed of the rock roll lifestyle while playing music in a converted garage, but there's something different here. The Substitutes' records are gritty, their instruments crunchy, their harmonies trebly, and while those are telltale signs of an under-financed band, they also work to the group's advantage. Share focuses on a vintage brand of rock roll, one that would've found a nice home among British teenagers in the early '60s. Capturing that sound on analog tape gives it some sort of validity, and the fact that the Substitutes can sing -- and we mean sing, in the same way that the Hollies and the Zombies could really, really sing -- only adds to the effect. It's often hard to hear all of the band's three- and four-part harmonies, but they're still there, populating the mix alongside Hammond riffs and quick blasts from two guitars. The songs bounce between acoustic neo-oldies (Take My Girl Home), power pop numbers (Oh Marie), and scream-your-head-off blues (Heart Attack Machine, Vol. 1), none of which waste any time in delivering a hook. Only Do You Love Me Like I Love You? lacks any real pop meat, since it's essentially a mash-up of the album's earlier tracks, complete with what sounds like someone stomping all over Charlie Glenn's organ. But even that song is endearing, all 79 seconds of it, as it shows a band that's young enough to take risks (and, if it sounds right, go a bit crazy). The party comes to a nice close with These Old Eyes, a Beach Boys homage that pairs a solitary guitar arpeggio with a cappella vocals. While the group croons its way through the final verse, there's a tiny disruption near the microphone -- the quick sound of a chair creaking or a pen being dropped to the studio floor. Many groups would edit out the resulting clatter, but the Substitutes leave it in -- perhaps because the vocals were recorded live with only one mic, or perhaps because "mistakes" are what make rock roll fun. And Share is definitely, definitely fun. ~ Andrew Leahey, Rovi

1		I Will Share This Song with You
2		Heart Attack Machine, Vol. 1
3		Oh Marie
4		When Was the Last Time?
5		Oh Please
6		Take My Girl Home
7		Do You Love Me Like I Love You?
8		Everybodys Got Somebody
9		These Old Eyes

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