As far as the music goes, the nineties are currently in the doghouse. It seems that every decade in modern music goes through that process at some point or other. So far, all the decades preceding the nineties seem to have received their bills of clean health both from the critics and the audience.
Not yet the nineties, and their stay in the doghouse seems to be one of the more prolonged ones, Nirvana or no Nirvana. Consequently, some brilliant music made in the decade has received a solid level of obscurity, only because that is the time when it was created.
Chris Holmes and his Yum-Yum project with Dan Loves Patti, their sole release could serve as a perfect example of this general neglect. Sure, AllMusic has an official note about the album, but it brushes it off as if it is a sticky, gooey piece of overly sweet candy. But then, almost all the critics missed the point with this one right from the start, dismissing it as Holmes’ bad joke.
Whether Holmes wanted to make a joke or not, makes no difference. It is simply the fact that he came up with the right thing at the wrong time. These days, any such project that picks up on those elements that made sixties pop so listenable and enjoyable would be lauded as a masterpiece. Holmes takes bubblegum pop as his musical pie crust and than fills it with every element that has pop in it he could find. From baroque pop, to sunshine pop, and all the variations (or mutations, if you will) in between, just as long as it was something that was aired over the radio waves at the time.
Along the way, you can sense the love and feel Holmes has for this music, pointing along the way that there’s nothing wrong with pop, just as long as it is good. And Yum-Yum’s Dan Loves Patti is more than just good pop, nineties or no nineties.