Power pop quintet the Click Five came together in Boston during the middle of 2003, channeling the energy of a younger Fountains of Wayne while sporting the visual aesthetic of a 1960s mod outfit revived for contemporary audiences. Berklee School of Music enrollees Joe Guese on lead guitar, Ethan Mentzer on bass, and Ben Romans on keyboards first drew the notice of manager Wayne Sharp, a veteran jazz promoter whose earlier Svengali-style project Candy—fronted by future Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke—had seen its promising 1985 debut Whatever Happened to Fun collapse commercially. Sharp promptly signed the three musicians and recruited fellow Berklee student Joey Zehr on drums, who in turn brought in his childhood friend Eric Dill as lead vocalist. Outfitted in coordinated mod-inspired suits and given salon-styled haircuts, the band sharpened its live act across Boston clubs before laying down a two-song demo in spring 2004. A four-song follow-up tape soon circulated, leading to a Lava Records contract within weeks.
Under Sharp’s guidance the group maintained high visibility throughout its initial three years. After joining Ashlee Simpson’s U.S. tour and issuing the EP Angel to You (Devil to Me), the members turned to recording their full-length debut Greetings from Imrie House, which surfaced in summer 2005 accompanied by an array of licensed merchandise including lunch boxes, trading cards, and hair products. The album also benefited from opening slots on the Backstreet Boys tour; despite their supporting role, the Click Five surpassed the headliners commercially when Greetings from Imrie House reached number 15 and its platinum-certified single “Just the Girl” climbed close to the Top Ten.
American success proved fleeting. Following Dill’s departure and the arrival of singer-guitarist Kyle Patrick, another Berklee alumnus, the band issued Modern Minds and Pastimes in 2007. The record’s increased emphasis on synthesizers and new-wave textures generated little response domestically, yet the group continued to dominate charts across Asia, especially in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Consequently, the Click Five released its subsequent album TCV solely in Asian territories in late 2010, with a European edition appearing six months afterward.
