CJ Grogan "newsongtwo"

I met CJ Grogran at IPO New York and foud his set pretty good, so afterwards his agent gave me a copy of his CD “newsongtwo.” Co-Produced by Kurt Reil of The Gripweeds, who plays drums on the tracks here as well, Grogan has the talent that carries a lot of these classic rock and roll styled songs. There are hints of The Beatles, Smithereens, The Gripweeds, and even Bob Mould in his influences. The album spans many different moods and approaches. A great example is “Go” with expansive guitar and organ that builds to it’s dense chorus of gentle harmony and swirling guitar melody. Vocally he’s a bit like Steve Winwood and he pounds the piano keys and bares his emotions on “Thrashing Doves,” but the mood lightens on the pop tribute “Bacharach” where the classical pop piano contrasts well with his mellow vocal, and with the horns here it’s reminiscent of Terry Kath-era Chicago. I appreciate the wonderful contemplative acoustic guitar and sitar on “Fall Down on Me,” as opposed to the hard rock sound of “Colourblind” which sounds less distinctive here. So what follows on the album is some nice memorable tracks (“Painted Line”) followed by artistic wanderings (“The Once In A While” and “NewSongtoo”) and then some straight forward power pop (“Turning The Beat”). So you have an album that has a bit of everything, like a box of Whitman Chocolates – you’re never sure what you’ll get; either something soft and sweet or dark and nutty (jeez! enough with the candy metaphors). More often than not you’re enjoying the precise musicianship and melodic touches of brilliance on display.

CJ Grogan Site | My Space | Not Lame