Brooklyn, NY continues to churn out great bands, and The Rollo Treadway are a prime example. The entire album fills a story arc about the kidnapping of two children and the songs are told from different characters point of view. It’s all very clever, from the story to the band’s name (Buster Keaton’s character from “The Navigator”). The opener “Kidnapped” is a stunner – opening with a mix of Donovan, The Lilys and The Wondermints. “You Laugh, I Cry” has the hushed vocal stylings of Chad & Jeremy or The Association. The instrumentation is clean with just the right amount of guitar jangle, percussion and orchestration. “Dear Mr. Doe” and the remaining tracks sounds closer to the sunshine pop of Harpers Bizarre, perfectly done. The big organ’s sound in “Friday’s Child” build a swirling pysche-pop carousel. The baroque stylings of “Coast’s Clear” are almost too understated, and mesmerize you, like a sermon at the church of Brian Wilson, resembling Smile’s “Wonderful.” This continues through several songs, including “Charlie,” so light it floats like a cloud through your head. Some added heavy guitar of “She’s Got Me” and “Avenue X” bring back the psyche element, leading up to the Doors meets The Free Design of “The Children of Table 34.” Although nothing tops the great opening track, the A capella finale of “Time to Dream” is a beautiful ending that will make Beach Boys fans smile. Lovers of baroque pop, can’t miss this one. In fact, neither should anyone else.

Rolo Treadway Site | My Space | Kool Kat Musik | Not Lame

Seattle singer songwriter Andy Liotta (aka The Billie Burke Estate) has been fine tuning the art of piano pop for decades, and it comes out in here on “Let Your Heart Break.” Beginning with the opener “99 Liberty Lane,” it’s a sweet McCartney slice of sparse piano pop with manic lyric and energy. “I Want U” is a great throwback to the early 1970’s and Michael Brown’s Stories or Todd Rundgren’s early solo period. The awesome bridge and hook are powerful and draw you into the music deeper with each listen. “Everybody’s Gonna Die” has both optimism and pessimism in the same catchy song. “Perky Muscle Girl” has a lyric and harmonic acrobatics worthy of Andy Partridge, but seems to beg for a bigger production than just bass and organ. The richness of the songs continue to amaze throughout the album, “I Can Float” has a fullness in melody with synth touches that reminds me of Nik Kershaw. The ballads here have a theatrical quality, evidenced by “Dreams Come True” – you can almost picture the dancers moving to this in a full musical production. Another influence here you’ll spot is Billy Joel (“Goodbye” and “Skin”) and only on “Little Maisy” does the balladry get too maudlin. It also would’ve been nice to hear a few songs in more of a denser wall of sound, but this is a minor flaw – the song arrangements are flawless and production is superb here. I highly recommend this release.

Billie Burke Estate Site | My Space | CD Baby | Not Lame