| More great pure pop music from Connecticut's own Mitch Linker, the heir to the melody throne. |
|---|
Mitch Linker
America
B.S.D. Productions (2006)
Pop guys like Mitch Linker make the job of a reviewer as easy as threading a needle through a hula hoop. On his sterling follow up to 2005's Hall of Fame-worthy, self-titled album, Linker continues in the tradition of traditional pop craftsmen, serving up four new songs and a slightly more aggressive mix of "Time On My Hands" that are every bit as good as you would expect them to be.
The new songs are simply smashing. The awfully pretty, piano-based "Learn How to Love" questions one's facility with the sweetest emotion. How does one go about making love work, and how does one keep from screwing things up? It's a song about managing confidence in preparation for a success in love. The spare, emotional ballad "Far, Far Away" assesses the fallout from a broken relationship. "Someone close to me is happier/Far, far away," Linker sings sadly, echoing the sentiments of untold lovers whose paths needed to diverge in order to restore their wounded souls.
If there is a hit ready to burst out of this fine EP, it is the ultra-catchy "The West Side," about wanting to be where the action is and not knowing how to get there, even when it's in full view. You've got to slow down, son, and dive in. That's the prescription!
The sure-to-be-controversial "Get Out of America" is a lyrically-complex song that takes issue with people whose reaction to an abundance of problems at home is to threaten to leave the country. The lyrics play with levels of personal and patriotic commitment that sometimes do not ring true. I think Linker is saying that charity begins at home, and that people who complain about situations without taking positive action are really only blowing smoke. It's a risky, thought-provoking topic that Linker tackles, and he tackles it with aplomb.
We are in the new golden age of pure pop music, fellow travelers. Here is your latest bright and shining example, the latest musical missive from the great Mitch Linker.
Alan Haber
June 10, 2006
Go to: Mitch Linker