I had never heard of The Allies when, early in the 21st century, a CD reissue of their lone album caught my attention. Simply entitled Allies (1982), the album is most notable for its pithy, stylish opener, "Emma Peel," a paean to Diana Riggs' sultry heroine in the 1960's TV show, The Avengers. And, truly, "Emma Peel" is a lost new wave masterpiece - slick, sexy, mysterious, and irresistible. Like the Vapors' "Turning Japanese," the Allies' "Emma Peel" is a barely concealed masturbatory fantasy, a bare-knuckled plea to a woman clearly not in the room. As the band pumps out a furious groove reminiscent of "Peter Gunn," singer David Kincaid admits forlornly, "The house is empty, my girlfriend left me." Not to worry, however, because "I've got a TV, Emma you move me, I'll feel good till the rerun ends." Ahem.

The interesting part to me, an obsessive pop fanatic, is that Allies was well over 20-years-old when I discovered it. Hell, it had been available on CD since 1999, when Kincaid's company, Haunted Field Music, reissued it. Moreover, "Emma Peel" had been a minor sensation back in 1982, garnering radio spins in the Pacific Northwest (from whence the Allies hail) and earning the group some juice on MTV during the video network's infancy (via one of their Basement Tape contests). But, gee whiz, I didn't even have a television in 1982 - let alone cable TV. Small wonder I missed "Emma Peel" on its maiden voyage, but I'm glad I caught it on the turnaround.

Sadly, the rest of the album doesn't live up to the sticky promise of its first three-and-a-half minutes. Allies is, inarguably, a solid record. But, as Kincaid's forthright liner notes reveal, this erstwhile band of popsters were actually hard rock veterans. Not surprisingly, most of Allies sounds like someone's conception of new wave pop rather than the real thing. For all the tight, Beatlesque harmonies and chunka-chunka guitar riffs, Allies is mostly 70's hard rock dressed up in skinny ties. The album is imminently listenable, but only Steve Adamek's gritty "Keep Your Eyes On Your Heart" approaches the magic of "Emma Peel." Undoubtedly, the Allies meant well, and their musicianship is unimpeachable. Still, sans "Emma Peel," Allies isn't even a solid Knack record.

The Allies had risen out of the ashes of Bighorn, a popular Seattle group that made a big-time, major-label record in 1976 and toured behind arena rockers like REO Speedwagon. After Bighorn tanked in 1979, drummer Adamek switched to guitar and fronted the Allies with newcomer Kincaid. The Allies gigged with abandon around Seattle for quite a spell, but Adamek quit the group after they failed to cash in on the buzz surrounding their self-released debut, and Kincaid called it a day in 1984. He switched coasts to try his luck in a bigger pond - New York City.

In short order, David Kincaid had his second brush with greatness by, cynics might claim, hopping on yet another bandwagon. During the mid-80's, numerous American rockers were embracing their ostensible roots: country, folk, blues, and rock 'n' roll played the way God intended - loud and unencumbered. Perhaps these bands were reacting to the fey, synthesized road rock had taken since new wave supplanted disco in the hearts of the fickle public. Regardless, this "American Music" movement spawned acts as illustrious as the Blasters, Los Lobos, Long Ryders, Del Fuegos, and BoDeans, leading eventually to the acoustic-based "Americana" movement that persists to this day.

Anyway, David Kincaid's new band, the Brandos (formed with former Allies drummer Larry Mason and members of local New York rockers Soul Attack) unblinkingly embraced this burgeoning genre. The Brandos readily affected the trappings common to bands of this ilk - working-class couture, heroic swagger, and a fetishistic obsession with American history. The Brandos soon signed to indie powerhouse Relativity Records and released their debut album, Honor Among Thieves (1987). Soon, they scored a minor hit single and video with "Gettysburg," a rousing, foreboding retelling of the famous Civil War battle.

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