seth swirsky. instant pleasure. review by alan haber. buhdge

hot buhdge too good to pass up in a world gone mad

They're hot, alright: the latest releases by music's best. Too good to pass up in a world gone mad, they're must-gets in a world full of must-avoids. They're the cream of the crop, and we review them here.

Instant Pleasure Seth Swirsky (No label listed) (2004) "When do you want it?" "Yesterday!" Well, okay then! Instant pleasure it is! That's your entree into the pure pop world of Seth Swirsky, hit songwriter for artists as diverse as Taylor Dayne, Rufus Wainwright and Faith Evans, and now for his own self. Swirsky's debut solo album is stocked deep with 11 masterfully-crafted, first-class songs that will get inside your head and go so deep, they're likely to grow roots. Mind you, an album so rooted in the pure pop aesthetic isn't an easy creation; if it were, everybody with a guitar would make one just like it. Songwriting smarts this, well, smart, are hard to come by, and harder still to make work for 11 straight songs, but Swirsky, the musical magician, does, and in grand style. You can play spot the influences, if you like ("No Beatles influence there," you say!) or you can just shut up and let the music take you to where you're going, wherever that may be. The gentle melodies and expert playing are your collective ticket. And, if being squarely in Beatles homage territory is your game, well, go and play already, as you undoubtedly will with "It's Still Love," about as Beatley as one can get, complete with Harrison-esque slide work, without going to prison to do significant hard time. Considering that Instant Pleasure wraps things up in just under 30 minutes, it's no surprise that many of the songs are quite short, but no less vital than the longer ones. Take the minute-long "Wednesday Unraveling," a slow and sure dream-turned-nightmare about the quick change artist known as life, in this case arising to a new day only to find it turn quickly sour. Set against a hopeful, acoustic bed, it's a stunner. Swirsky tells fascinating stories that all listeners can identify with. The guy in "Edinburgh," for example, dispenses advice to his friend, whose love is coming in from the Scottish city for a two-day visit, when he probably wishes the friend would blow it and the girl would be with him (at least that's my take). In "Bike Trip," a man sings about all the wonder that he and his girl will experience when she comes home from her cycling journey. Curiously, though, at the end of the song he asks the girl to sleep with him, but cautions for the both of them to keep it their "little secret," so how confident is he? In "Ordinary Man," a guy who dreamt of being famous is working in his garden, finding himself reveling in the simple pleasures of life, calling himself an ordinary man. "And I've traded in my cellphone/for a book of poetry," he sings. A tip of the sensibilities to sixties pop, the song is dripping in melody, concluding with a neat chord progression and a tender, satisfying last guitar pluck. Utterly delightful in every way, Instant Pleasure is a real find, a golden collection of inspired songs written and sung with maximum emotion by an artist at the peak of his powers. Hopefully, it won't be long until the next Swirsky collection. Until then, here's your instant pleasure. Alan Haber February 9, 2005
alan haber's pure pop buhdgeblog hot buhdge \| pop buhdge \| buhdge remembers television buhdge \| film buhdge \| books buhdge video buhdge \| buhdge fine print \| links about buhdge \| write for buhdge \| contact home (c) 2004 Alan Haber

Instant Pleasure
Seth Swirsky
(No label listed) (2004)

seth swirsky's instant pleasure "When do you want it?" "Yesterday!" Well, okay then! Instant pleasure it is! That's your entree into the pure pop world of Seth Swirsky, hit songwriter for artists as diverse as Taylor Dayne, Rufus Wainwright and Faith Evans, and now for his own self. Swirsky's debut solo album is stocked deep with 11 masterfully-crafted, first-class songs that will get inside your head and go so deep, they're likely to grow roots.

Mind you, an album so rooted in the pure pop aesthetic isn't an easy creation; if it were, everybody with a guitar would make one just like it. Songwriting smarts this, well, smart, are hard to come by, and harder still to make work for 11 straight songs, but Swirsky, the musical magician, does, and in grand style.

You can play spot the influences, if you like ("No Beatles influence there," you say!) or you can just shut up and let the music take you to where you're going, wherever that may be. The gentle melodies and expert playing are your collective ticket. And, if being squarely in Beatles homage territory is your game, well, go and play already, as you undoubtedly will with "It's Still Love," about as Beatley as one can get, complete with Harrison-esque slide work, without going to prison to do significant hard time.

Considering that Instant Pleasure wraps things up in just under 30 minutes, it's no surprise that many of the songs are quite short, but no less vital than the longer ones. Take the minute-long "Wednesday Unraveling," a slow and sure dream-turned-nightmare about the quick change artist known as life, in this case arising to a new day only to find it turn quickly sour. Set against a hopeful, acoustic bed, it's a stunner.

Swirsky tells fascinating stories that all listeners can identify with. The guy in "Edinburgh," for example, dispenses advice to his friend, whose love is coming in from the Scottish city for a two-day visit, when he probably wishes the friend would blow it and the girl would be with him (at least that's my take). In "Bike Trip," a man sings about all the wonder that he and his girl will experience when she comes home from her cycling journey. Curiously, though, at the end of the song he asks the girl to sleep with him, but cautions for the both of them to keep it their "little secret," so how confident is he?

In "Ordinary Man," a guy who dreamt of being famous is working in his garden, finding himself reveling in the simple pleasures of life, calling himself an ordinary man. "And I've traded in my cellphone/for a book of poetry," he sings. A tip of the sensibilities to sixties pop, the song is dripping in melody, concluding with a neat chord progression and a tender, satisfying last guitar pluck.

Utterly delightful in every way, Instant Pleasure is a real find, a golden collection of inspired songs written and sung with maximum emotion by an artist at the peak of his powers. Hopefully, it won't be long until the next Swirsky collection. Until then, here's your instant pleasure.

Alan Haber
February 9, 2005