Dave Caruso returns to the (virtual) airwaves with the dad-joke-titled Buddha Pesto Manifesto, after having first caught my attention with his Elizabeth Parker EP back in 2009. Caruso has a slick pop sound informed by Elvis Costello, Squeeze, and of course The Beatles and he puts those influences to good use in "Boomer, Jenna & Lennie" (which also reminds me of Mark Bacino), "Hanging With You" (which could be a Beatles '65 outtake), and "God's Green Acre" (a lovely chamber-pop ballad). Elsewhere, Caruso's gift for Costello-like wordplay comes to the fore with "Punctuating Shatner", in which the verbal tics of Jeff Goldblum and William Shatner are a metaphor for lovers with communication issues. But Caruso's appeal on this album can be summed up by the title of one of its better tracks, "The Girl Who Checks All the Boxes", as he checks all the boxes when it comes to fans of smart, melodic adult pop.
CD Baby (preview all tracks)
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