(no byline on this one, sorry. yes, it really does say 'thurst' and
'posied'. and  it amuses me when the end of the 4th paragraph starts to read
like a Penthouse letter.....)

from Creative Loafing, April 18, 1987

Raleigh's The Connells opened a five-week tour that will take them to the
West Coast, including crucial showcase gigs in Los Angeles, a couple of
weekends back at the Milestone.  The quintet has just finished recording an
album's worth of material at Mitch Easter's Drive-In Studio in
Winston-Salem, and hopes to shop it to labels.  With critical raves and a
solid commercial showing for their Darker Days album and recent Hats Off EP,
both on their own Black Park label, a major contract for the new record
cannot be too far away.

The Connells play pop music, no apologies offered, with certain jangly
overtones that connect with old Byrds fans, as well as younger R.E.M.
devotees.  There's a distinct British thurst, too, which lends an eclectic
dynamism frequently lacking in other current "Southern folk-rock" bands.
The back-to-back Friday and Saturday shows demonstrated in bold relief how
far the Connells have come since their weekend garage practices some three
of four years ago.

Playing a fairly even mix of songs from the albums and unreleased material,
plus well chosen covers like "Knocking on Heaven's Door" and "For What It's
Worth" (the former slipped in parts from the Replacements "Here Comes a
Regular," while the latter interpolated the Hot Chocolate chestnut "you Sexy
Thing"),  the band kept the crowds dancing and singing along.

The first night suffered just a bit from sound and pacing problems, and
things didn't really catch fire until the last half hour.  But the second
show was stunning, as much for the melodic intensity of the songs  as the
tangible band-audience transfer of energy.  "Hats Off," in particular,
resonated with a brightness and clarity only hinted at on record;  lead
singer Doug MacMillan seemed in the throes of ecstasy, and lead guitarist
Mike Connell punctuated his chunky chords with leg-kicks and upward jerks of
his instrument's neck.

The Connells are posied on the brink of greatness.  They regularly pack N.C.
clubs, and it seems inevitable that larger venues beckon.

Opening for The Connells the first night was Chapel Hill's Satellite
Boyfriend.  Their brand of high-energy guitar-whammy embodied the
youth/party/trash spirit (very hot and Who-like, reckless and unstoppable).
And additional treat came in the form of Doug Macmillan gusting on an
hilariously chaotic cover of "Brandy," by Looking Glass.

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