Every now and then, you need to listen to something that truly reminds you of listening to old radio on your headphones back when you were growing up. It's like comfort food. Not Lame recently turned me on to Fred. Think harmonies, piano, and keyboards. Not surprisingly (once you listen), Chris Manning, formerly of Jellyfish and Roger Manning's brother, produced their CD Sound Awake. The comparisons to Jellyfish are worthy, probably the most worthy I've heard in years. Fred also reminds me of Mike Viola / Candybutchers, which isn't surprising because they remind me of Jellyfish. And don't be afraid to say it sounds groovy. I think that's an appropriate description for it. It feels like a guilty pleasure, but I don't think it is. I don't feel guilty anyway. I'm really digging it and think you might too. They truly fit the Too Poppy mold. Enjoy plenty of streams, etc.:Official site
Not Lame site
CD Baby site
Myspace site
And buy it from Not Lame. They deserve some credit for this. They sent me a special email telling me about Fred because I've bought Jellyfish from them before. You gotta love that kind of personal attention (as opposed to Amazon's cool but often misguided recommendations feature).
I receive my CD from Not Lame in a typical timely fashion. I've had time to listen to it a couple times all the way through. Although I'm not as enthralled with it as I was listening to bits and pieces, I'm still pretty pleased. I think it would've made a great EP, and I think Fred would be great with a polished producer like John Fields or Jon Brion (not dissing Chris Manning at all - I just think Fred could use a more experienced producer). It's not groundbreaking, which I never expected. And his vocals do remind me of Billy Joel every now and then, which depending on my mood, could be a bad thing or an acceptable thing. After a couple listens, I'd give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars. It's no Bellybutton, but then again, what is?
ReplyDelete