Stephen’s almost Zevon-esque attention to the words and the feelings evokes more than a pop song should, rubbing up the high emotion of good folk rock.
When Chris Thomas gets into his frequent, bratty Ian Mackaye imitations, and bass-fumbler Kim Thompson backs up with moany harmonies, all’s pretty good.
They offer more odd-time signatures and unusual open chords/clean pickings to give listeners an intelligent alternative to the everyday sappy pop song.
Matt Mahaffey has built powerful, sexy pop that digitizes hooks that stop you short and jerk you back at all the right places, pushing hard and driving it in.
Sorta something special – literate without bein’ boring, authentic without really tryin’ too hard at it, and accessible while transcending mainstream shit.