Ed James "In the 21st Century"

Here’s an old favorite of mine, with a new Power Pop Classic. Ed James has been rockin’ since the 90s and I see no drop off in quality here. Opening with the Elastic-styled guitar riff “Out of this town” Ed let’s us know he’s taking no prisoners. The next track “She’s The One” is a perfect sugary love song. Excellent musicianship, strong melody and heavenly harmonies are all over this one. This is what I count on when I hear Ed James. “Miss Polly” is another gem. Similar to my Aussie friend Michael Carpenter, every song here is worth the listen and most tracks deserve repeats in your ears. “Second” is an amazing mid-tempo tune that has great lyric and reminds me of classic 10cc. This vibe continues with the ethereal ballad “Layna.” It’s not perfect though, the lightweight “Star Trek Girl” is like a Rubinoos parody and “Lullaby” rips off the Beatles “Yesterday” a bit — but this is really nitpicking. If you want a classic of the genre, look no further. It is for sale at CD Baby or get it from the Itunes store here.