The Blood Rush Hour-Shrink. Now here's a pleasant pop surprise. The Blood Rush Hour are a four-piece Welsh band led by Robert DiStefano, and Shrink is an effervescent piece of British pop that channels Jellyfish and XTC. Opener "The Way Back Home" with its piano-and-horns backing as well as the buoyant "Delme" bring to mind fellow Brits The Feeling, while the frenetic back-and-forth stylistic shifts of "Into the Fire" and "My Life With the Omni One" have a Bryan Scary-meets-Jellyfish vibe. Elsewhere, "The Trauma Factory" and "Gone (Where Nobody Can Find Me)" show their appreciation for pre-Beatles British pop, and "The Tale of Sir Lancelot" along with closer "Show Me Your Self" also effectively show off their pop chops. This is an impressive a power pop debut as I've heard in the last couple of years, so don't shrink from picking this one up.CD Baby | iTunes
Justin Kline-Cabin Fever Songs. Taking a break from his usual peppy pop tunes, site favorite Justin Kline is back with a lower-key, contemplative effort this time around which nonetheless shows off his gift for melody. The lo-fi, largely acoustic version of Kline sounds quite a bit like Elliott Smith or Connor Oberst, and the opener "Nighttime Girl" is an irresistible slice of folk/pop. Despite the lack of a "big" sound, "Your Mystery" manages to get the toes tappin', and "Carol Lynn" is a gorgeous number that would have fit in perfectly as a change-of-pace on one of his previous albums. A perfect album for a rainy Sunday afternoon.CD Baby | iTunes
I got a copy of "Shrink". I'm wondering if you and I are listening to the same album. Mine certainly doesn't sound as good as yours apparently does. Occasionally there's a good hook, but it's consistently mediocre at best in my book.
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