Great Northern has the kind of Oasis-styled pop dramatics that draw you in and take hold of you. The opening track “Our Bleeding Hearts” starts with a nice piano melody and slowly builds to a chorus that reminds me of The Smashing Pumpkins in their prime. “Just a Dream” follows as a kind of pastoral power pop, like The Olivia Tremor Control fronted by Enya. This is followed by “Home” – a terrific single with a beatlesque vibe that lingers long after the final note plays. Lead singer Rachel Stolte’s voice is awesome, reaching highs that leaves Gwen Stefani in the dust with the song “Telling Lies.” Each song is thick with great wall of sound-styled production and like Enya, builds a sonic soundscape that starts great but can easily get overly bombastic. Mid way through the album “A Sun a Sound” seems like a good Coldplay styled track that changes the mood a bit. “Into the Sun” and “The Middle” then switches gears and gets more aggressive with the guitar work. This starts to sound a bit like Blur and ends the album on a positive note. It’s alot to take in one album, but it’s done really well. Great Northern is shining example of ethereal and soothing power pop.
Great Northern Website | My Space | Amazon | Itunes
Other bloggers have been discovering that Bryan Scary and The Shredding Tears are so far the best power pop band this year (even though technically this came out end of last year). My original review from February is here. The Obscure Sound blog has some downloads and a really great review. I could not agree more with it. Essential reading and listening.