Sunrise Highway “Windows”
The familiar guitar jangle and harmonies return from Sunrise Highway on the title track “Windows.” Very much like America or Jeff Larson on the opener, but the band then takes a harder turn after this. “Breathe” gets crunchier, and more psychedelic – a good comparison would be The Pillbugs. “Peter Pan” takes this further with heavy chords leading the way about never growing old, and the follow up “Foreverland” fits in perfectly with those Rickenbacker riffs “join me in Foreverland and leave your worries behind.” The dense shimmering guitars here also remind me of the Orange Peels, with its layered combination of melody and sound.
Lead singer Jerry Rio doesn’t shy away from controversial subjects either. The band describes the life of a musician in “Giving It All Away” from building a website for the band, promoting your music and figuring out “who’s gonna have to pay.” Note that some of these tracks a have been living as singles on YouTube for a while. There is a serious rant in “QE Forever,” a mid-tempo ballad about Federal Reserve monetary policy. Not everything here sticks, but this is a solid sophomore LP with a big 14 tracks. Highly recommended.
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Rob Cantor “Not A Trampoline”
Remember Tally Hall? The band has been inactive for a couple years, but vocalist Rob Cantor has returned to create a catchy album that shares some of that Tally Hall magic. While the lead track “Ghost” is low key dance pop, it leads to the wonderful “Old Bike” with a slow build to harmony drenched chorus. Then the catchy single “Garden of Eden” mixes a solid riff and synth rhythm. It kinda goes all over the map with modern pop, salsa, ballads and such, keeping things unpredictable.
The electronic pop of “The Rendezvous” includes a duet with Madi Diaz, and the quirky melody of “I’m Gonna Win” features monster guitar riffs. Hip hop beats contrast the subdued vocals on “Flamingo” and the delicate melody of “Perfect” with its building three-part harmonies push this into highly recommended territory.