Make the Rules

VINYL FORMAT. Formed in Milwaukee, The Orbits were a mod/powerpop three-piece band whose outstanding "Make The Rules" can be heard on the second volume of Powerpearls. Old bandmate (and also Shivvers drummer) Jim Richardson once qualified the combo as "Brian Jones on speed fronting The Jam." In fact, the trio was typical of the US vintage late '70s power-pop sound, as they were true garage activists drawing from the '60s legacy much more subtly than their UK contemporaries. Juvenile, disarming, devoid of all pretense or anything. Released on the tiny label No.1, "Make The Rules" backed with smashing "Phenomenal World" were in the bins in 1980. The Orbits sound was tight like a strong black coffee (or its chemical equivalent) but enriched with a lot of pop artifacts (clear vocals, handclaps, peals of guitar riffs, "lalala-la" background vocals). The Shivvers and The Orbits would later morph into one, keeping The Shivvers name.