Joe Giddings “Better From Here”
Joe tells us right away ‘I don’t want to sing like the Beatles again, but I’m gonna do it anyway’ on the title track. It’s got a little bit of everything, but what stands out is that’s got some real guitar muscle. The next tune tones it down with slide guitar on “Always Raining Somewhere,” his songwriting here is in top form.
The influences are never stuck in one place, and it’s stubbornly original. “Gone So Far” is another brilliant example, with sweet harmonies and chord shifts. His guitar can shred with anyone, as he plays with a post-punk sprightliness and a less overtly British Invasion-inspired melodic sense that’s closer to the power-pop greats of the ’90s. Fans of Velvet Crush and Fountains of Wayne will enjoy “Amity Horror” and “Rock and Roll.” The high harmonies just burst in again on “If I Don’t Have Love.” Not a whiff of filler here and each track hits its target. This is looking to be in my top 10 of 2020! Super Highly Recommended!
Nick Pipitone “Thiensville”
Milwaukee’s Nick Pipitone has delivered a concept album in Thiensville, about a middle-aged man’s life in a small Wisconsin town. Inspired somewhat from The Kinks Village Green Preservation Society it touches on a lot of local names and places. The most distracting thing about Nick is his nasal Elvis Costello meets Bob Dylan styled vocal delivery. If you can get used to it, you will enjoy this album.
Starting with “Century Estates,” it’s a look back at a housing development that was “top-of-the-line” in 1969. The guitar riffs are great, similar to The Raspberries, but his songwriting style is clearly modeled after Mike Viola. “Skippy Had A Dream” is another early standout, and the album gets better the further you go along.
The ’60s influenced “The Prime Minister” with its psychedelic fuzz, very much recalls The Beatles “Rain” and “The Gathering” is a great slice of life tune about reliving your past, at a reunion with wine in hand comparing diamonds and Range Rovers. These song stories are very well written and musically smartly composed. Big highlights include “Coffee War” with a terrific guitar melody and “Village Scoop” with its catchy percussion. “C.O.C” about The College of Concordia goes to great lengths finding words to rhyme with “Concordia” and I love the line “No. 2 pencils and No. 3 girlfriends, Both are quite handy in the dead of winter.” Highly Recommended.
