Search - :: Small Town

A very welcome return for a great band

Nobody | 04/25/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hey, these guys were suppose to be gone! After completing one of the best two album sets in music history to little commercial acclaim, that was a major tragedy. I knew they had messed around a little doing some live shows in the past few years, but this came as a complete surprise.



Of course, reformed bands after a such a long layoff can blow, going over old ground or more often losing the muse. Thank goodness the latter is not the case, few bands have ever come back to life with such success, this is really nice sounding music. Maybe a little too nice, that's where this falls back a bit. They were very challenging in "Timeless" and "Moonbathing", a completely unique sound that was going somewhere new, only we never found out where. "Small Town" is not that destination. It's ironic that they made their most commercial CD at a time when their commercial visibility is near zero.



Despite a certain amount of trademark quirkiness, it's much mellower and more melodic, almost mainstream soft rock, with syrupy strings, muted horns and synths in places. That's not a new selection of tools for them, but they're used differently here. Overall this is a very consistent and solid set of music, professional, accomplished, seamless. Nothing particularly stands out, but nothing really grates either (although "Missing" misses for me). "Five Train" is the brightest, but also the most conventional, the lyrics not very interesting until the last line. This CD appears to be a series of poems about their new home, New York City, and while there are some striking insights (the snow in "Small Town" for example), this inhabits a less interesting landscape than the strange other worlds they used to sing about, where icebergs were afire.



The sound and feel of the band is intact, the great Romero vocal weave, and the music is very fine. I hope they can make enough money doing this to spend more time in the studio, I'd take more of this, but . . . somewhere out there I believe it's possible they have that one huge album left in them, maybe they can complete that trip they started all those years ago. Possibly it lies along the direction of "Home", a kind of techno pop Sneaker Pimps type sound that fits their vocal style. It's never too late to explore the unknown, don't forget the sky."

A Must Listen!

Stephen L. Crist | 03/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a longtime fan, I was excited when SCM brought forth the birth of their new musical child. The relaxed nature and fierce commitment musically of this group of fine people is played out for us in this work. Michael Cozzi's hard work and immense talent bring all of the best that SCM can deliver together throughout this recording. Between Rodricks beautiful sight written down for us and Anisa's beautiful voice carrying it to our ears and soul, It is their most polished work ever."

Amazing!!!

Angela Gretchenuk | seattle | 03/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is amazing! Check out Five Train in addition to Missing...I looked back into this bands past and all the rest of their CD's are noteworthy too!"