20/20 - BACK TO CALIFORNIA
SPYDERPOP RECORDS is proud to announce the return of power pop and new wave legends 20/20, with the all-new album BACK TO CALIFORNIA. Out January 17 2025 on Vinyl LP, CD and Streaming worldwide and featuring 11 new original songs, the album has already been previewed by a single of the title track (a solid hit on global indie radio) with the equally strong “Laurel Canyon” set to follow in December. Crafted by the band's original singer-songwriter duo of STEVE ALLEN and RON FLYNT, BACK TO CALIFORNIA stands with the very best of a beloved catalog that commenced with the band's undisputed classic self-titled debut album in 1979, and brings 20/20's music to a whole new generation of guitar pop fans and long-time followers alike. The album is up for pre-order/pre-save in all formats now.
OFFICIAL PRESS NOTES by John M. Borack, Contributing Editor at GOLDMINE MAGAZINE and author of SHAKE SOME ACTION: THE ULTIMATE POWER POP GUIDE and THE BEATLES 100:
How often has a band gone more than a quarter of a century between album releases and then come up with a collection of songs that stands proudly alongside their finest work?
Not too often, I’d say.
But I’ll be damned if 20/20 hasn’t done just that with their new LP, Back to California. It’s their first album of new material since 1998’s Interstate, and their first for SpyderPop Records. “We felt like the music was doing what it wanted to do,” vocalist/guitarist Steve Allen says of the new songs he penned with his longtime friend and musical partner, vocalist/bassist Ron Flynt. What the music does on Back to California is expertly builds a bridge between 20/20’s legacy as an iconic power pop band (their self-titled debut from 1979 is an acknowledged classic of the genre) and Allen and Flynt’s current status as seasoned songwriters and performers who have never strayed from their love of a hook.
And hooks certainly abound on Back to California—things kick off in a grand fashion with the insistent title track, already released as the album’s initial single. It was one of the first tunes Allen and Flynt worked on when the project began taking shape in 2019. “The year 2020 was fast approaching and there was talk of a show at the Roxy in Hollywood,” Flynt says. “The idea of going back to California was intoxicating, and bringing my son Ray to play drums sealed the deal for me. That’s when we started writing the song…”
Like their power pop compadres Dwight Twilley and Phil Seymour, Flynt and Allen were childhood friends who had originally made the trek to Southern California from Tulsa, Oklahoma in the ‘70s, seeking fame and fortune (and a record deal) in the Golden State. After releasing a single on Bomp Records, 20/20 (which also included keyboardist-guitarist Chris Silagyi and drummer/co-founder Mike Gallo at the time) was signed to Portrait Records. They recorded their classic album 20/20 at Sound City Studios.
“I loved living in California,” Ron says. “There is an undeniable romance on the streets of Hollywood and a feeling in the air that anything is possible.” Perhaps coincidentally—or perhaps not—“Back to California” is a tune that harkens back to that glorious late ‘70s power pop sound, with muscular, driving guitars and a riff that vaguely recall the Plimsouls’ “A Million Miles Away.” “It’s a love song, maybe between two people, maybe between the past and the present, or maybe it’s about hope…and a chance to bring it all back again,” Flynt says.
Another number that will “bring it all back again” for the listener is “Springtime Love Song,” a churning, fiery rocker that would not have sounded out of place on the band's debut. It was the song that kickstarted work on the album; Allen had played a bit of it for Flynt when the duo had traveled to LA to play a show with their old friend Dwight Twilley, and, as Flynt recalls, “the ball was rolling.” The song stands up to anything they’ve ever done, which is saying a hell of a lot.
Nearly every track on Back to California is framed with an inspired guitar riff accompanying an instantly memorable melody. Sometimes the guitars are forceful (those opening blasts of distorted six-string on “The End of the Summer” are pretty damned cool), sometimes they’re Beatlesque (“When the Sun Goes Down”), and sometimes they even lean ever-so-slightly toward country-rock (the catchier than hell “King of the Whole Wide World”). Without fail, though, the hook is always king, and Allen and Flynt dole them out here like there’s no tomorrow.
But, luckily for us, there is a tomorrow; in addition to releasing the new record, Allen says 20/20 has some live dates planned for 2025. But while looking toward the future, Allen also remembers how it all began. “I met Ron in the 6th grade…and [we] soon started playing guitars and learned how to make music together. We were Beatles and ‘60s music freaks. Now it’s many years later and we haven’t changed much. We both felt the call to write some new songs together.”
And these 11 wonderful new songs will take you on a trip Back to California with 20/20. Give it a try, open your eyes and feel free…
John M. Borack
