Paper Route "Absence"

I really liked the EP so I decided to give the new full length a try. If I did not know these guys were from Nashville, there would be no possible way to discern it from their sound. Since I'm older than many of the current music reviewers out there, I recall the 80's from an adult point of view already involved in the music business, not a kid or pre-teen associating the music with their parents or hormones. This sounds like straight up Euro synth pop, invoking Spandau Ballet, A-Ha, late model ABC, etc.. I swear that Richard Ashcroft sings one of the tracks! If it reminds me of anything current it would be Keane. I had it in the player alongside the Dredg release and it meshed well, though a lighter weight than Dredg. I was drawn in to the unique drum patterns and the overall production of "Absence". i now wish I had caught their tour stop here in town.

Had to put this up in light of recent news...

Check out this picture of the Ol' Mad Rocker and Paula Abdul from March of 1995. This was at a NARM convention in San Diego on a Capitol Records sponsored boat trip around the bay, harbor, whatever they call it. That also explains the nautical accessories... Anyway, Paula was looking good at 32, tiny thing that she was/is. There must be a few hundred pictures like this floating around the country. That boat gig was also memorable as one Garth Brooks was on-board signing anything that was shoved under his nose. The cruise circled back to the dock and most all the label artists escaped to shore, but not Mr. Brooks. He stayed on board to allow everyone to have their shot at meeting him. One of the reasons the man was so admired. There may have been three others besides myself who did not bother him. We were too busy trying to drink the bars dry on the second trip around the bay, harbor, whatever... Oh, yeah, there was this amazingly incredible Latin beauty on board in a form-fitting purple pantsuit that stopped everybody in their tracks, male and female! We finally had to ask and it was Selena. At the end of that month of March she was murdered.

dredg "The Pariah, Parrot, Delusion"

So this is the album that is truly their own. The deal with Interscope was up and The PPD is released on the band's label. This is what I so anxiously waited for? They previewed a couple of tracks on their stop at The Social in support of the Live @ Fillmore release, and they sounded pretty good. But as much as I hate to say it, this album is a letdown from the previous two albums. 2005's Catch Without Arms is possibly one of my favorite albums of this century. The PPD still has the lush, dreamy auralscape I enjoyed before, but it doesn't have the same song quality as Catch, or even El Cielo. This album seems to compromise the band's epic power for a little more mainstream approach. Maybe this album will pull in some more radio airplay (and with it fans). They just came through town as a support act for Rx Bandits, I think, and that may add to their fan base as well. They are an impressive live show. I'm still adding The PPD to my collection, and I'm going to give it one last spin through some headphones before putting it away, but I doubt I will ever reach for it before Catch.