ON THE COVER of its latest CD Eager To Please, the three members of Portland, Maine-based The Leftovers (Kurt Baker, Andrew Rice and Adam Woronoff) look both dazed and stoned, which maybe reflects on the strain of the long tours that have taken the guys around the country and abroad. “The whole process of putting out the record took a long time,” explains Woronoff, the drummer. “We had a photo shoot in Malibu at a beach, and it was just the picture we landed on.We definitely didn’t want to have a cheesy cover with us jumping in the air or anything, but looking back I suppose we could have chosen a livelier photo.”

 

On its website, the band describes its sound as “directly centered between Ramones and The Beatles.” Alongside distorted guitars and an overall highenergy groove, the band produces a ’60s-inspired melodic structure with close three-part harmonies. “When we started we were mostly influenced by bands like Screeching Weasel,The Queers and Bouncing Souls,” says Woronoff. “As we got older we all started to get back in touch with the music we grew up listening to as young children, which was the ’60s pop and rock our parents had.”

Listening to the new record, one gets what Woronoff means.The music has an almost familiar feel the moment you hear their songs, but at once you realize they are not merely copycats.Tunes like “She She She” and “Up and Around” have a raw, unrehearsed feel until the guitar riffs and harmonies come in, and the classic influence can clearly be felt in “Telephone Operator,” which sounds like cross between Chuck Berry’s “Memphis” and The Beatles’ “Please Please Me.”

“Kurt wrote that song with this guy Wyatt who plays in a band called Second Saturday,” recalls Woronoff. “It was just a catchy song that we all really liked.The guitar riff was actually added by our producer, Linus of Hollywood.We tracked all of our songs live and then took a few days and added things like guitar solos, pianos and vocals. It was in one of those sessions where Linus came up with that little guitar part. We thought it sounded great and added a lot to the song.The similarity to ‘Please Please Me’ wasn’t quite intentional, but perhaps on some subliminal level it was.”

> The Leftovers

Dec. 3, Southpaw, 125 5th Ave. (betw. St. Johns & Sterling Pls.), Brooklyn, 718-230-0236; 7, $12