A glance at the covers of Weird Summer's first two albums, Homer and Cry For the Moon would probably inspire you to plop them right back into the dollar bin where you found them. They look just like literally dozens of other mid-80s lo-budget releases from Collegetown, USA. But if you bothered to take them home and perform some experiments on them you might be surprised at the depth and subtlety of this Champaign, Il. band. You might think, "Wow, that singer has a great voice," and turn the jacket over to find the name of Bob Kimbell whose voice is similar, but pitched slightly higher than, Michael Stipe's. (I know people have a lot of different opinions re: Stipe, but I think the tonality of his voice is gorgeous.) You might also notice that the guitar interplay of Kimbell and Nick Rudd (Turning Curious, Blown) recalls Felt and the Byrds. And after a couple of spins you might be amazed to find that all of the songs are really really good, with fetching melodies, thoughtful lyrics, and simple but effective arrangements.

I was a pretty ravenous consumer of fanzines during the latter half of the 80s, and I don't remember anybody mentioning Weird Summer. I didn't know they existed until Parasol Records re-issued their first two albums as a single CD in 1994.