The Special Pillow are a New Jersey based psych-pop group that resembles classic Elephant 6 bands like The Apples in Stereo and Olivia Tremor Control. “I love your smile” is a great example of the funky psychedelic goodness here. The next few tracks continue this wonderful exploration with lots of unusual instrumentation, including exotic guitars, ukuleles, mandolins, and mandocello. Dan Cuddy’s melodic acid trip is like kool-aid for your soul here with more hooks than a bait shop. “No more problems” gives us a lazy sliding melody and is perfectly laid back. It takes a sharp hard rock turn on the excellent “Your Dead City” which reminds me of The Apples in Stereo doing a Kiss song. The bouncy “Ghosts Are Real” has a Celtic feel to it, with the compelling chorus that sticks in your head like glue. “Universal Mother’s Day” is my favorite here, it reminds me of Love and Rockets mixed with Bacharach orchestral pop flourishes. It looses a bit of direction towards the end of the album, but it still maintains interest. Not as guitar intense as The Mother Hips, but much catchier melodies here. If you like psych pop, this is essential listening. Light up the incense!

Special Pillow Website | My Space | Itunes | CD Baby

Listen to “I Love Your Smile”

Listen to “Your Dead City”

I was convinced that Crowded House was gone and Tim Finn’s wonderful “Imaginary Kingdom” last year was all that was coming out. An older, wiser Crowded House now releases “Time on Earth” and although I’ve been a fan for many years, this disk takes more time to grow on you. This sounds closer to a Neil Finn Solo record and unfortunately can’t hold a candle to Crowded House classics like “Woodface.” It’s a melancholy affair that laments over mortality and this was recorded with the death of Paul Hester (the band’s original drummer, occasional songwriter and friend of Neil’s since the end of Split Enz) looming in every track. It still has it’s share of hooks like the single “Don’t Stop Now” and the up-tempo “She Called Up” which is the best song on the album in my opinion. However the ballads here take over. “English Trees” and the beautiful “Nobody Wants to” are more the somber tone here. These are great songs but midway through the album it loses momentum and ends with a whimper in “People are like Suns.” The other bright spot is a collaboration with Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr on “Even A Child.” These bright spots lift the entire album up from being a mid-tempo mediocrity. This is a fitting tribute to Hester and I hope the next album is more upbeat.

My Space | Crowded House Website | Itunes | Amazon

Listen to “Don’t stop now”

Check out the big blue “Artist Interviews” button on the right. Subtle, yes? Anyway if you’d like some more insight into some of the bands I review here, check it out. New interviews posted: Phil Usher of Grand Atlantic and Brian McClelland of The Maxtone Four

Well it took long enough, but the great Jason Falkner has released his newest full length solo CD. It contains the first original material in almost eight years (If you don’t count the excellent Bliss Decending EP). Is it worth the wait? Well, yes and no. To those who are Falkner-fanatics who bought the Japan only release in April then it is essential, like a oasis after a long desert journey. For the rest of us, it is a very good album that fits nicely into your power pop collection. Like The Beach Boys “Smiley Smile”, this is a solid bunt and not a home run. My guess is Jason has been too busy producing other projects over the past seven years (Air, Beck, Aimee Mann, etc.) and this feels like a “project” for his cult fan base. That aside, it delivers what you expect: Awesome arrangements, glorious hooks and fantastic melodies. It opens with “This Time” a great song that sets the pace with a rising chorus and driving beat. It follows with the ELO meets Devo gems “NYC” and “The Knew.” Then the beautiful “Stephanie tells me” continues this hit streak. No one can sound like him, and Falkner can bend your ear better than anyone outside of Roger Manning. After that it wanders into Beck-like territory before recovering with the inspirational ballad “Runaway,” with it’s wonderful chord progressions. It then slips into an introspective funk until the last track “I don’t mind” provides an amazing vocal acrobatic chorus “I haven’t smiled since yesterday, It’s alright. I’m okay.” It may not be as perfect as his earlier albums, but it comes damn close. What do you expect here? A bad review? When this gets to US outlets, I’ll post the information because even $37 is a bit steep for this import.

Jason Falkner’s Site | My Space | Bad News Japanese CDs | Amazon

Listen to “Stephanie Tells Me”

Listen to “This Time”