Tinted Windows Promises Pure Power Pop on Debut Album : Rolling Stone

Tinted Windows

Tinted Windows 4/21

It's the unlikeliest of supergroups — Taylor Hanson, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger and former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha.

The diverse principals of Tinted Windows were drawn together for the simplest of missions: "Lots of guitars, pure songs and simple production," Hanson says.

"This band is not just a collection of pieces — I can't wait for people to discover how organic it feels," he adds.

The seeds of the project were planted back in 1996 when Hanson's other band was recording its debut. Hanson met with Schlesinger about collaborating on material for that project ? a song never materialized, but a long friendship did.

"Ever since we met, Taylor and I had talked about trying to do something together," says Schlesinger. The two failed to connect until three years ago. "Adam called me and we just started brainstorming about this idea of a very straightforward project, music that we weren't going to over-think," says Hanson. "This is about the energy of guitar driven, tight pop songs. It sort of in the tradition of great bands like the Knack and the Buzzcocks and for that matter Cheap Trick."

With that mission statement, Schlesinger was able to recruit his friend Iha, and the group's early demos reeled in Carlos (Hanson says, "He adds an incredibly cool vibe to the whole project").

"Once you sit down to write a song, or you sit down to make music, the differences seem to fade away," explains Hanson.

The lineup already has pop purists giddy — the exclusive track "Kind of Girl" on our Smoking Section blog inspired hundreds of enthused comments.

"I think that's going to be the most fun thing about the whole project, letting people actually discover that this is a band," says Hanson.