Solid Air - Heartbreak Town - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Barbara Pritchard - View from Here [COMPACT DISCS] date 11/24/1998

San Francisco, Sonoma Area original alternative folk with 12-strings, lap steels, harmonica and keyboards. InchDown-home meeting of British folk-rock duo Richard & Linda Thompson and the Flying Burrito BrothersInch. Traces of 10,000 Maniacs and Lucinda Williams. Digs deep into American Roots with a 10 originals and 2 classics, Bob Dylan's InchYou Ain't Goin NowhereInch and Johnny Cash's InchGet Rhythm.Inch Tips it's hat to Eddie Cochran (InchLittle BirdInch), echoes the glory days of Gram Parsons (InchWhistle of the WheelsInch) and shades of the Beatles, Beau Brummels, and the Lovin Spoonful (InchIf You Took the Time,Inch InchIn the SummertimeInch). Nominated for InchWAMMIESInch, S. F. Weekly's Alt Music Awards and received acclaim in Acoustic Guitar, Fast Folk Audio and Performing Songwriter mags.

Requiring less than two weeks of studio time to complete, it's accurate to say that Apex Manor's Heartbreak City was captured more than it was recorded due to the Incheverybody in the same roomInch live sessions featuring songwriter Ross Flournoy on guitar and vocals, Dan Allaire (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) on drums, and Rob Barbato on bass and production duties. The raucous result is a sonic spectacle that cleverly balances aggressive Dinosaur Jr.-esque guitars with dreamy synth work that's reminiscent of The Cure, all mixed together with spirited instrumental performances, nuanced melodicism, and lyrics that swing wildly between being cryptic and being profound. In short, it's everything there is to love about early '90s pre-commercialized alternative rock but with a refreshingly modern absence of pretense or nostalgia.