The Statuettes “Great Western” EP
The Statuettes (formerly Michael Gross and the Statuettes) are a pop/rock band based in Salt Lake City, UT that play as a tight unit, mixing influences from past into present. “Into The Dark” is a great angular intro which combines the dark bass lines of Blue Oyster Cult with its brooding chorus. “Not Crying” is a modern expansive arena single, lead by the booming drum and deliberate guitar-piano accents.
The faster paced “It’s A The Same” and “Life’s A Dream” echo Coldplay with lead singer Michael Gross sounding a dead ringer for Chris Martin. In a nice change of pace “Oh Please” let’s the guitars take the chorus. No filler and overall, a solid pop rock EP worth checking out.
Tommy Sistak “Short Songs”
Tommy Sistak grew up playing in garage bands in suburban Chicago. His band Bagshot Row, is a classic oldies outfit that has opened for Davy Jones of the Monkees, Peter Noone and Herman’s Hermits, and Eric Burdon and the Animals. Sistak’s syle is most decidedly early Beatles, with its rich Rickenbacker jangle and three-part vocal harmonies. Staring with “Think About Me” its all about the short, punchy pop, when mid 60’s pop ruled the radio.
This is guilt free goodness, and Sistak keeps them coming, “Ordinary Words” and “Whisper In the Night” are fast paced gems, but what puts them above the fray of other Beatlesque bands are the excellent chord progressions and the occasional deeper bass fuzz. Even switching to a softer multi-tracked acoustic on “Be Good” like The Cyrkle makes a nice change of pace. A happy guilty pleasure here; scratch that Fab itch with Tommy.
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