Tag Archives: Power Pop

Star & Micey: Star & Micey

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StarAndMicey_StarAndMiceyBroken-hearted folk, power pop and soul

Ardent Studios, famed both for their original productions by Big Star and the raft of overflow sessions hosted for Stax, is still a working concern. Recent visitors have included Robyn Hitchcock, Klaus Voorman, Jack White and many more local, national and international luminaries. Less well-known is that the Ardent Music record label provides a modern day parallel to the original Ardent Records upon which Big Star’s albums and singles were released. The label’s latest is the debut by Star & Micey, a trio whose music is built on a uniquely Memphisian blend of rock, folk, blues, country, pop and soul.

Vocalist Joshua Cosby sings in a voice reminiscent of Robert Plant’s gentler blue-folk tone applied to Gordon Gano’s angst. When surrounded by harmonies, such as on the broken hearted “Carly,” a power-pop winsomeness emerges from the quivering edge of his voice. Guitarist (and Ardent staffer) Nick Redmond finger-picks chiming country-folk and slides buzzing southern-blues, layering them into a cross between Chet Atkins, Mungo Jerry and the Allman Brothers. Some productions are given a light soul sheen (“I Am the One She Needs”), others built up with ornate and powerful strings (“On Your Own”), left to shamble (“Late at Night”) or stripped down to a lullaby (“Quicksand”).

Cosby’s lyrics are like pages taken from a lovelorn writer’s diary. There are songs of being held at arm’s length, getting dumped, simmering in anger, rediscovering one’s independence, and letting oneself fall back in love. The lyrics are laced with romantic torment, but the nervous wobble of Cosby’s voice suggests drama that’s poured into tears that are cried alone. It’s the extrovert-introvert pivot of great power pop: emotional needs that struggle to be heard outside the songwriter’s head. The blend of musical flavors of adds a winning Memphis twist that sets this apart from the guitar jangle that typically accompanies such romantic strife. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | So Much Pain
MP3 | Carly
MP3 | On Your Own
Star & Micey’s Home Page
Star & Micey’s MySpace Page

Big Star: Keep an Eye on the Sky

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BigStar_KeepAnEyeOnTheSkyThe essential second (or third) Big Star purchase

It’s hard to imagine anyone issuing a Big Star release that’s a more perfect introduction to the band than the two-fer of #1 Record and Radio City. You could include their third album, dig in the archives for alternate versions and live tracks, stretch through their reunion music, add pre- and post-Big Star releases, and solo work for context, and you could write lavish liner notes to explain and contextualize their ill-fated story. But as an introduction, every bit of it would simply distract from the perfection that is that first perfect couplet of albums. If you want to turn someone on to Big Star, the stepping stones are #1 Record and Radio City.

But once they’re hooked they’ll want to know more; they’ll want to know everything. Where did the players come from and what did they do before and after Big Star? What else did the band record? What’s Ardent Records and what else was the label doing at the time? How did Memphis influence the band’s sound? Are there alternate versions or unreleased tracks? What were they like as a live unit? And of course: why haven’t I heard of this band before? The latter question is less likely to be asked these days, since obsessive fans have dug up many of the other answers, and many well-known bands have cited Big Star as a seminal influence. But until this box set was released, the full picture of Big Star’s career had to be pieced together from a shelf-full of CDs [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9], a pair of books [1 2] and assorted fan web sites.

With this 4-CD set, Rhino has reduced all of the purchases that normally follow the two-fer into a rich and convenient box. This is not a substitute for the original albums, nor does it replace the full-length live albums, lead-ins and follow-ups, or the detailed written histories of the band; but for many, this consolidated view of Big Star will be the perfect follow-up to the initial infatuation. For those who’ve already collected everything that’s been legitimately released, the box still provides something extra in previously unreleased live and studio items from the archives. Some of the alternate material is subtle, but some, like “Country Morn” fronts the well-known backing track of “Sunrise” with entirely different lyrics. The B-side mix of “In the Street” has a noticeably different feel to the album track, and the alternate version of “The Ballad of El Goodo” sports a different lead vocal take.

There are early versions of “I Got Kinda Lost,” “There Was a Light” and Loudon Wainwright III’s “Motel Blues” that never made it to final form, and revealing demos for songs that made each of the group’s first three albums. Perhaps the biggest treat of all, however, is the live show featured on disc four. This disc is a distillation of three sets performed by the three-piece (Chris Bell-less) Big Star in Memphis in January 1973. Recorded from microphones set in front of the stage, it’s not the crisp line recording of the band’s previously released shows, but it’s a superb performance whose room sound offers a bit of you-are-there ambiance. It’s a shame the audience mostly ignore the greatness in front of them as they await the headliner, Archie Bell & the Drells.

The physical presentation, a folder containing the four discs and a hundred-page book housed in a slipcase, is superb. An introductory note from Ardent Records founder John Fry shows the emotional connection the insiders still carry with them. Robert Gordon’s historical notes are informative, but Bob Mehr’s essay brilliantly captures the slowly-built cult of Big Star, replaying the clandestine mystery and wonderful discovery the band’s fans felt in the years before the Internet and this  box set put the story at everyone’s fingertips. The book closes with song notes from Alec Palao that gather the scattered details that could be reassembled from tape box labels and participants memories. The 7.5-inch square book includes superb full-panel pictures, most of which have never been seen by even Big Star’s biggest fans.

Could the set include more? Yes. Would that make it better as a box set? Not really. The purpose of these four discs is to tell a story, to provide substance and dimension to a band whose story was revealed ever so slowly over the course of three decades. By intermixing standard and alternate versions of key recordings this set offers new angles on the well-known corpus. By including a full disc of live music the collection fleshes out Big Star from a studio incarnation into a band populated by flesh-and-blood musicians. Start with the band’s first two albums, but once you’ve been bitten, continue here. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Big Star’s Home Page
Big Star’s MySpace Page

The Breakaways: Walking Out on Love (The Lost Sessions)

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Breakaways_WalkingOutOnLovePower pop missing link between the Nerves, Beat and Plimsouls

Hot on the heels of Alive’s first-ever formal reissue of the Nerves EP and a rare live set, comes this volume of demos cut by Peter Case and Paul Collins in between the demise of the Nerves and the formation of their respective bands, the Plimsouls and the Beat. As with the Nerves, Collins started out on drums and Case on bass, with various guitarists pressed into action for cassette- and home-made reel-to-reel recording sessions. Case and Collins handled the vocals and eventually took on guitar duties as well. The recordings vary in quality, but the enthusiasm of power-pop pals playing and singing their hearts out easily transcends moments of mono muddiness and under-mixed vocals.

The thirteen songs include a few that had been recorded by the Nerves such as “One Way Ticket” and “Working Too Hard,” as well as originals that would become staples for the Plimsouls (“Everyday Things”) and Beat (“I Don’t Fit In,” “Let Me Into Your Life,” “USA” and “Walking Out on Love”). Even more interesting to fans are the originals that didn’t make it past these rough demos. “Radio Station” features the deep reverb guitar and impassioned vocal Case would perfect with the Plimsouls, “Will You Come Through?” has the ringing guitar of a P.F. Sloan folk rocker, and “House on the Hill” shows off Case’s rock ‘n’ soul sound.

In addition to the songs Collins would re-record with the Beat, he offers the driving drums and Everly-styled harmonies of “Little Suzy” and the rhythm-guitar propelled “Do You Want to Love Me?” As Collins notes in the liners, “this is the sound of pop on the streets of Los Angeles circa 1978, no money, no deals, just the burning desire to make something happen in a town without pity.” Case and Collins approached these sessions with the unbridled passion and total dedication of musicians without masters – no label, no audience, no radio stations, no managers or agents, just the muse of pop music. The recordings may be fuzzy in spots, but the invention is clear as a chiming bell. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Little Suzy
The Nerves’ MySpace Page
Peter Case’s Home Page
Paul Collins’ Home Page

The Laughing Dogs “The Laughing Dogs / Meet Their Makers

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LaughingDogs_LaughingDogsMeetTheirMakersHarmony-rich power-pop from 1979 and 1980

Power pop’s late-70s resurgence, particularly the commercial breakthrough of The Knack, spawned a lot of one- and two-album major label deals. This New York quartet issued two albums on Columbia: 1979’s eponymous debut and 1980’s Meet Their Makers, reissued here as a two-fer with a bare-bones four-panel insert and no bonus tracks. Unlike some of their better remembered peers, the Laughing Dogs didn’t have a singular sound. At turns their debut rings with Beatlesque pop, Huey Lewis bar rock, rockabilly fervor, bombastic arena rock and the mid-tempo balladry of Billy Joel and Boz Scaggs. Most of the tunes are washed in precise, multipart harmonies that bring to mind the Raspberries, Rubinoos and Utopia.

The band’s charms are amply displayed in the lead vocal harmonies of “Reason for Love,” and its lyric of undying dedication and drifting harmonica create a terrific summer vibe. Also memorable is the rocker “It’s Just the Truth,” opening with a drum beat that threatens “Come on Down to My Boat,” before launching into power chords and harmonies. The group’s punk associations are heard in the pop thrash of “I Need a Million” and the driving rhythm of “Get Outa My Way,” but the sophomore album smooths away the rough edges and indie spirit developed during the group’s CBGB days. The song list dips into cover versions for The Animals’ “Don’t Bring Me Down” and Dionne Warwick’s “Reach Out for Me.” The former suggests the direction Tom Petty would take with his later live cover, while the ;atter is neatly turned into power-pop with vocal harmonies and an urgent tempo.

The second album’s originals reach further from the jangling guitars of the debut, with a funky bottom line on the opening “Zombies,” a reggae-tinged rhythm under “Formal Letter,” and a bluesy charge to “What Ya Doin’ It For?” The polished productions lose some of the club cred of the debut but show the band to be a talented studio unit. Though neither album is truly a holy grail of power pop, the Laughing Dogs’ strong harmony singing and sophisticated arrangements stand out from the raw punk and commercial new wave of their peers. Pop fans will find some ear pleasing harmony and chime here, and those who lean to the progressive pop of Steely Dan and Utopia will find some pleasant surprises. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

The Perms: Keeps You Up When You’re Down

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Perms_KeepsYouUpCatchy power-pop from Winnipeg

This Canadian rock trio’s been kicking around in one form or another since 1997. Formed in Brandon, Manitoba, the original trio recorded their debut (1998’s Tight Perm) as teenagers. After relocating to Winnipeg, the band added a brass player, recorded 2002’s Clark Days, and eventually returned to a threesome of guitar, bass, drums. The band is led by bassist/vocalist Shane Smith, who writes and sings with his brother/guitarist Chad. Together with drummer John Huver the band rocks hard, but their hummable melodies, riffing guitars, head-bobbing rhythms, thick productions and harmony vocals make them more more power-pop than power-trio; more Rooney than Cream. You can still hear the DIY ethos of their earlier albums and traces angular post-punk flavors, but the bulk of this album’s productions are catchy throwbacks to the golden age (and multiple revivals) of power-pop. The Smith Brothers’ vocals are nicely polished this time, and though the rhythms still have plenty of punch, they aren’t punk-rock staccato and the guitar’s roar has more sustain and chime than before. Fans of Rooney, Sugar, Greenberry Woods, Shoes, Material Issue, Fountains of Wayne, Matthew Sweet, Teenage Fanclub, Motors  and Velvet Crush should check this out, lest you smack yourself in the head ten years hence when some pimply college DJ pulls this from the library and makes you wonder how you missed it. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | World to Me
The Perms Home Page
The Perms MySpace Page

Big Star: #1 Record / Radio City

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BigStar_NumberOneRadioCityTwo of the greatest pop albums ever recorded + two bonus tracks

So much has been written by the brilliant pop music of these two albums, that there’s little left to say about the music itself. Lauded by critics and ignored by pop music buyers, Big Star became the most influential rock band never to make it commercially. Their debut album, cheekily titled “#1 Record” (1972) and its follow-up, “Radio City” (1974), were reissued in 1978 as a gatefold two-fer that pricked the ears of pop fans and collectors who’d missed their original release. The group’s name would be bandied about by an ever-growing underground of in-the-know fans-cum-worshippers. The group’s unreleased-at-the-time third album (alternately titled Third and Sister Lovers) appeared briefly on vinyl on the PVC label shortly thereafter. The ‘80s passed before a CD reissue of the seminal first two albums appeared on Big Beat in 1990. This was followed by a domestic release on Fantasy in 1992, which was paralleled by a period live FM broadcast from 1974, Big Star Live, and a CD reissue of Sister Lovers.

The attention finally brought vocalist/songwriter Alex Chilton back to his Big Star catalog, and along with original drummer Jody Stephens and the Posies’ Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, a reconstituted Big Star recorded a live album at Missouri University, Columbia. Additional reissues of the three studio albums followed, along with more archival live recordings and rehearsal tapes (Nobody Can Dance) and a studio album in 2005, In Space. The selling point of this latest reissue, aside from renewing media and retail interest in two of the greatest rock albums ever recorded, is a pair of bonus tracks. The first is the single version of “In the Street,” which is an entirely different take than the album track. This version was previously reissued on a grey-market vinyl EP in the 1980s, and appeared on Ace’s Thank You Friends: The Ardent Records Story. The second bonus is a single edit of “O My Soul” that shortens the original 5:35 to a radio-friendly 2:47.

The fold-out eight-panel booklet includes liner note from Brian Hogg penned in 1986 (as previously included in both Big Beat and Fantasy’s earlier CDs), and shorter liner notes by Rick Clark, penned for Fantasy’s previous domestic reissue. In fact, the booklet reproduces Fantasy’s 1992 insert almost exactly, with the original’s solicitation for a Fantasy catalog trimmed away and the two new tracks grafted onto the song listing in a font that doesn’t quite match. Those who’ve purchased one of the many previous reissues might see if download services offer the bonuses as individual tracks; if not, buy this for yourself and give your old copy to someone yet to discover Big Star. That should hold you until Rhino’s Big Star box set arrives in September. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Big Star’s Home Page

Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey: Here and Now

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peterholsapplechrisstamey_hereandnowEx-dB’s show off the magic of their pairing

Holsapple and Stamey’s music on the first two dB’s albums (Stands for Decibels and Repercussions – available as a two-fer) was so deeply insinuating as to nearly obsolete everything else that would follow. It’s not that their post-dB’s work was uninteresting or without merit, it just never set its hooks as deeply in the soul. Stamey’s string of solo albums held several high points, including his sole major-label release, 1987’s It’s Alright, and his 2004 return, Travels in the South. He also helped create memorable works as a producer, recording Americana acts that include Whiskeytown, Alejandro Escovedo, and Caitlin Cary. But none of this, including the dB’s post-Stamey releases (1984’s Like This, 1987’s The Sound of Music and 1994’s Paris Avenue), nor the duo’s recently reissued post-dB’s team-up, Mavericks, ever fully captured the magic of the first two albums.

Others have had to compete with their mercurial early success. But unlike Stamey’s one-time boss, Alex Chilton, Stamey and Holsapple have retained the charm of their early days, even as the buoyancy of younger years is weighed down by the wear of age. Was their post-dB’s music really all that different, or was the difference in the listener’s matured expectation and the environment into which later releases were made? Longtime fans can’t really make an evaluation divorced from romantic attachment to the early albums, but Holsapple and Stamey’s latest can provide some clues. The thrill that runs through their layered vocal harmonies, the descending melodic hook of “Early in the Morning,” and the battery of guitar sounds provide instant reminders of what drew your ear to this pair in the first place.

Stamey’s 2004 return to solo work reminded fans of what they’d been missing, and Holsapple’s return reignites the ear’s longing for his voice and harmonies. The album’s love songs could easily be taken as expressions of friendship; the opening cover of Family’s “My Friend the Sun” reads as a mutual invitation to reconnect, and Stamey’s “Santa Monica,” ostensibly a declaration of lifelong fealty to a lover, could be read as a nostalgic memory of earlier musical connections. Holsapple’s title track celebrates the present, but it’s clear that this moment is the culmination of a long-standing association. Even Stamey’s honorarium “Song for Johnny Cash” could be interpreted as a celebration of the musical friendship closer at hand.

Writing independently, each bounces from pop confections to philosophical constructs. In the former category is Holsapple’s stream-of-consciousness spin through a routine start to the day, “Early in the Morning,” and Stamey’s bouncy “Widescreen World.” In the latter category are Holsapple’s questioning “Begin Again” and “Some of the Parts,” the latter opening with the fifty-something quandary “Mid-life, and where’s my big parade?” Stamey’s jazz influences surface on the allegorical “Broken Record,” augmented by drifting guitars and a layered vocal harmony break. Holsapple and Stamey leaven each other here as they did in their dB’s days, creating a vocal magic that neither possesses alone. Eighteen years after their last pairing, this album’s been a long time coming; but it was certainly worth the wait. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Here and Now
Peter Holsapple’s MySpace Page
Chris Stamey’s Home Page
Chris Stamey’s MySpace Page
The dB’s Home Page

The Nerves: One Way Ticket

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thenerves_onewayticketThe headwaters of mid-70s power pop

The Nerves – Peter Case, Paul Collins and Jack Lee – issued only one 4-song EP during their three year tenure, but that 1976 7” flew brilliantly in the face of then-dominant arena rock as well as the back-to-basics punk paradigm trailing in the Ramones’ wake. The Nerves mixed the pop melodics of the Beatles, Big Star, Raspberries and Rubinoos with the emerging DIY aesthetic to create music that had garage-rock intensity layered with the craft of AM-radio hooks. The EP served as a template for all three members’ subsequent solo careers, and drew a rock ‘n’ roll path that paralleled New Wave pop without surrendering to its badly aging musical affectations.

The EP was self-financed and thinly distributed, making it a collector’s item even at the time of its mid-70s issue. Two of its tracks, Lee’s “Hanging on the Telephone” and Case’s “When You Find Out” turned up on Rhino’s D.I.Y: Come Out and Play – American Power Pop I (1975-1978), and the previously unreleased “One Way Ticket” was included in the box set Children of Nuggets in 2005. The entire 4-song EP, along with the Plimsoul’s Zero Hour, and Jack Lee’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 turned up on the 1992 grey-market French CD That’s Totally Pop, but as Peter Case explains in this set’s liner notes, this is the Nerve’s first official full-length release. Included are the original four songs, two by Jack Lee, one by Case and one by Collins, augmented by a pair of tracks (Peter Case’s “One Way Ticket” and Jack Lee’s “Paper Dolls”) that were meant to be the EP’s follow-up on Greg Shaw’s Bomp label.

Paul Collins’ “Walking Out on Love,” which he later re-recorded with The Beat, is heard here in a frantic post-Nerves/pre-Beat version by Collins, Case and a pick-up guitarist. Case’s “Thing of the Past,” written for the Nerves, is performed live by an early version of the Plimsouls, and Jack Lee’s immediate post-Nerves sound is documented with the rockabilly-punk “It’s Hot Outside.” A rough demo of the Case-Collins “Many Roads to Follow” is sung to strummed acoustic guitars, combining the power of the British Invasion and Everly-styled harmonies. Demos of the group’s live staples “Are You Famous?” and “Letter to G.” show Jack Lee also had no shortage of fine material.

Also included are eight tracks recorded live on the group’s 1977 cross-country tour. The sound is listenable bootleg quality, which is better for getting a sense of the Nerves’ energy than a truly satisfying listening experience. No matter, the original EP is worth the CD’s full price, and the post-EP and post-Nerves tracks are great bonuses. Case moved on to form the Plimsouls, recording the brilliant debut Zero Hour and two immediate follow-up LPs; Collins formed The Beat, carrying on the Nerves pop-rock sound with the group’s eponymous debut; Lee unexpectedly found commercial success when Blondie covered the Nerves’ “Hanging on the Telephone,” and subsequently released a pair of albums in the 1980s. But it all started here – and all lovers of power pop should snap this up while it’s available! [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Listen to “When You Find Out”
The Nerves’ MySpace Page

Sloan: Parallel Play

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sloan_parallelplayCatchy, guitar-heavy pop-rock with 60/70/80s influences

Fifteen years into their recording career, Canada’s Sloan has pulled back from the White Album length, breadth and experimentation of 2006’s Never Hear the End of It to craft this tight set of thirteen guitar rock tunes. While the thirty track sprawl of Never Hear the End of It wasn’t as disjointed as the Beatles’ magnum opus, it offered a similar summing of parts, pulling together threads that had been woven through the bands earlier albums. In contrast, this shorter set is more focused and integrated, including second-side-of-Abbey-Road song-to-song segues that help knit together the multiple songwriter’s works. Though it may not be as intellectually impressive as their previous release, the constricted space amplifies the emotional impact of the band’s energy, pouring terrific pop hooks on top of powerful electric guitars, multipart vocal harmonies, stomping rhythms, and neo-psych production touches.

Beneath the sunshine-pop melodies and textures, the lyrics are surprisingly philosophical, with particular attention paid to the changes wrought by growing up and aging. The two clearest statements, “I’m Not a Kid Anymore” and “Down in the Basement” survey personal and band histories with diametrically opposed viewpoints. The former gazes longingly at a youth free of responsibility and bemoans the singer’s current adult circumstances. The latter, a Dylan-toned electric blues, follows the band’s youth-bound four-track fantasies of stardom into middle-period studio excess, and finally to the surprised and satisfied realization that music actually begat a stable career and family. Elsewhere the lyrics contemplate the need to accept change, the petulant impulse to simply move on, and the complacencies of middle age.

The stories in Sloan’s lyrics are not always as memorable as the words themselves, and neither is as memorable as the harmonies in which they’re sung, the pop-rock with which they’re arranged, or the hooks with which they’re strung together. The range of Sloan’s pop influences, and the fluidity with which they move between them is especially impressive as they, for example, crank up ‘70s styled pub-punk on “Emergency 911,” drop into glam for “Burn For It,” and regress to bouncy bubblegum on “Witch’s Hand.” You can hear elements of many great pop bands here, including the Beatles, Jam, Sweet, Cheap Trick, Oasis, Greenberry Woods, Fountains of Wayne, and others. Sloan doesn’t sound exactly like any one of them, though neither do they have an instantly recognizable sound of their own. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Hear “Witch’s Hand”
Sloan’s Home Page
Sloan’s MySpace Page

Adam Marsland: Daylight Kissing Night – Adam Marsland’s Greatest Hits

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adammarsland_daylightkissingnightSophisticated pop-rock from former Cockeyed Ghost leader

Adam Marsland and his former band Cockeyed Ghost were serious road warriors throughout the latter half of the 1990s, performing hundreds of shows a year and recording four albums between 1996 and 2000. When the band came to an end, Marsland carried on as a solo act, touring with his guitar and releasing a pair of albums under his own name. But even with a strong back catalog and a Rolodex full of contacts, Marsland finally surrendered to the grind of the itinerant indie musician in 2004. He stopped writing but kept playing and arranging, recorded the tribute album Long Promised Road: Songs of Dennis & Carl Wilson, and subsequently served as the musical director for the Beach Boys’ October 2008 tribute to Carl Wilson at the Roxy in Los Angeles.

Marsland reignited his recording career with the release of this bargain-priced set that distills his catalog to twenty songs spanning both Cockeyed Ghost and his solo releases. He’s touched up a few tracks and re-recorded a few more to even out a dozen years of instruments, studios, musicians and producers. Mastering engineer Earle Mankey gave the collection a final polish, and the results sound remarkably holistic. Long time fans will hear the songs as cherry-picked from various phases of Marsland’s career, but those new to the catalog will be impressed with how smoothly these tracks knit together. Marsland’s a clever writer, in the vein of Ben Folds and Ben Vaughn, and his music spans pop and rock with underpinnings of soul. This isn’t exactly power pop (not nearly enough broken hearts), but there’s plenty of chime in the guitars and hooks in the melodies.

The opening “My Kickass Life” could easily succumb to jokey sarcasm, but Marsland sings instead of the satisfaction found in the mistakes that have shaped him. The flipside of that contentment include the low point of solo touring, “I Can’t Do This Anymore,” and the fictional musician abandoning his adopted California in “Ludlow 6:18.” The latter may also be the tail end of the fleeing protagonist of “Disappear.” Marsland often throws listeners a curveball by matching lyrics of depression and ennui to chipper melodies that suggest things aren’t as bad as the words claim. Not so with “Ginna Ling,” whose dark twist cuts through the frothy sing-songy pop, and whose chorus changes meaning mid-song. The existential angst of “The Foghorn,” a song based on contemplations of a parent’s mortality, is even more straightforward.

Marsland’s affection for the Wilson brothers is evident throughout, but particularly in “The Fates Cry Foul,” which sounds like a modern-day Brian Wilson tune, and the Beach Boys-styled vocal harmonies of “Portland.” The high harmonies of “Big Big Yeah” borrow a page from Jan & Dean and add a spark to this wonderfully sarcastic song about disposable buzz bands. All in all, this is a good introduction to an artist whose acclaim should be wider, and a great way to catch up before Marsland unleashes a new album currently projected for March 2009. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Ginna Ling
Adam Marsland’s Home Page
Adam Marsland’s MySpace Page