Category: Top Ten of 2008 Candidate

Another missed gem from 2008 that should not be neglected. I can’t say enough about Ness. An amazing masterpiece of a rock and roll. Ness takes it’s lead from 70’s classic rock and progressive pop sounds, but it combines the influences into a swirling mass of rock and pop sweetness. The opener “Where’s Guns?” floors you like a mix of The Posies and The Who full of hypnotizing riffs and harmonies. The follow up “I Intend” gets theatrical in a very Mick Ronson kind of way. Listen to it streaming and tell me you disagree. The track “Somewhere” sounds a lot like early seventies Yes, if you replaced Jon Anderson with Brian Wilson. This album manages to put layer upon layer of tracks, and “Weary By The Day” and the follow up “The Future Used To Be Cool” resembles a pop version of Genesis’ “Lamb Lies Down On Broadway.” This is the heart of the album, and it’s an amazing achievement (complete with organ solo fadeout). That would be enough, but the stellar “Losing Track (Of The Things I’ve Lost)” is another opus similar to Buffalo Springfield. “Petty White” is a Todd Rundgren meets Pet Sounds gem that compares well to Paul Steel’s “April & I” in technique. “Elena Margaret” is a fitting end ballad to the entire album. “Goin’ Home” is a jam that continues a general showcasing of instrumental prowess, with spoken band credits. This is one of the best progressive pop albums, I’ve heard in a long time.

My Space | CD Baby | Not Lame | The Ness Website

This latest Pillbugs album (always something to look forward to) comes with a bittersweet sense of loss. Vocalist/guitarist Mark Kelly passed away last May and the remaining band members put the finishing touches here with Mark Mikel leading the way. As with past releases, no other band has come close the recreating the spirit and sound of sixties psyche-pop better than the Pillbugs. From the opening riffs on “Life As It Happens” you’ll be sold. If you bleed day-glo colors then you have to own this one. Like a mix of The Byrds and The Now People, “Can’t Get It Right” is full of sophisticated rhythms and harmonies. “Greeting Committee” is a part McCartney, part Cat Stevens and is a classic mid-tempo love song with hand claps and a big fat melodic hook. “Soundman” gets a little harder in sound, a bit like The Who with some Lynyrd Skynyrd guitar riffs thrown in. Parts of this album do address Mark Kelly’s medical condition (“Hard Line”) with grim determination of an classic Jethro Tull song. Another highlight here is “Tragedy Ann” with awesome Roy Wood/Jeff Lynne-era ELO violins and cellos, with the Beatles long shadow over each Sitar strum and horn flourish. Although a few tracks seem indulgent (“Play the Hear Back”) consider me a raving fan here, and after a few listens you will bow at The Pillbugs altar.

My Space | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik

Listen to “Life As it Happens”

Listen to “Can’t Get It Right (So I’m Loving It Wrong)”