venice. pacific standard time. review by marvin matthews. buhdge

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Pacific Standard Time Venice Flow (2004) Pop music defies any simple definition. It has the power to convey a different meaning and message to each person, and in its unpredictability and duality, it can create enigmas. Case in point, Venice. The band hails from Venice, California, yet to the general listening and music-buying public in their homeland, they might as well be from Venice, Italy. They are virtually unknown in North America, yet as enigmatic as it may sound, they routinely sell out shows in…the Netherlands. Hopefully, that will change with the release of Venice's latest album. For the uninitiated, the band consists of brothers Kipp (lead vocals) and Pat Lennon (vocals and guitar) and their cousins, brothers Mark (lead vocals) and Michael (guitar and vocals). Kipp and Pat are also the younger brothers of the Lennon Sisters. Needless to say, there is musical lineage tied to this band, the members of which have an extensive track record singing and playing on albums by, among others, Warren Zevon, David Crosby, Brian Wilson, Jackson Browne, and Don Henley. Possibly the icing on their musical cake is that they have also provided vocals to numerous episodes of the long-running TV show, The Simpsons. Venice has most often been compared to the Southern California sound of 1970s groups like the Eagles; Crosby, Stills and Nash; and Fleetwood Mac. Unfortunately, since Venice's music cannot be pigeonholed into current formats, the average radio listener is probably not going to hear Venice very often on North American radio. European radio tends to have less rigid formatting, so Venice has been able to get their foot in the door there, getting their music out to the European public over the airwaves. Pacific Standard Time, Venice's sixth release (not including a Christmas collection) is the band's most complete creation. It expands on the rock/folk-rock blueprint they have laid, with tightly focused songs that are true to the Venice vision. Their reputation for exceptional vocals remains intact. The opening set of songs, from "I'll Keep My Fingers Crossed" (where Kipp and the band capture a Donald Fagen/Steely Dan feel) to "Cotton Candy," featuring Mark Lennon’s gorgeous vocal, and the addictive single "Everybody's Opium," set the tone, with laid-back assuredness and an invitation to hum along and tap your feet, whether on a Sunday afternoon or any afternoon you choose. "Blue Ocean Park Waltz," a song ripe with changing time signatures and those ever-present Venice choir-boy harmonies, is another highlight. Those of you who are new to Venice will be dazzled by this crop of songs' striking melodies; you Venice veterans will be rewarded with what you knew was coming all along. As of this writing, Pacific Standard Time has been released only in Belgium and the Netherlands. A North American release is imminent. More than simply a cult band, Venice is worthy of hit status. With this latest album, it will hopefully be theirs. Marvin Matthews April 24, 2005
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Pacific Standard Time
Venice
Flow (2004)

venice's pacific standard time Pop music defies any simple definition. It has the power to convey a different meaning and message to each person, and in its unpredictability and duality, it can create enigmas. Case in point, Venice. The band hails from Venice, California, yet to the general listening and music-buying public in their homeland, they might as well be from Venice, Italy. They are virtually unknown in North America, yet as enigmatic as it may sound, they routinely sell out shows in…the Netherlands.

Hopefully, that will change with the release of Venice's latest album. For the uninitiated, the band consists of brothers Kipp (lead vocals) and Pat Lennon (vocals and guitar) and their cousins, brothers Mark (lead vocals) and Michael (guitar and vocals). Kipp and Pat are also the younger brothers of the Lennon Sisters. Needless to say, there is musical lineage tied to this band, the members of which have an extensive track record singing and playing on albums by, among others, Warren Zevon, David Crosby, Brian Wilson, Jackson Browne, and Don Henley. Possibly the icing on their musical cake is that they have also provided vocals to numerous episodes of the long-running TV show, The Simpsons.

Venice has most often been compared to the Southern California sound of 1970s groups like the Eagles; Crosby, Stills and Nash; and Fleetwood Mac. Unfortunately, since Venice's music cannot be pigeonholed into current formats, the average radio listener is probably not going to hear Venice very often on North American radio. European radio tends to have less rigid formatting, so Venice has been able to get their foot in the door there, getting their music out to the European public over the airwaves.

Pacific Standard Time, Venice's sixth release (not including a Christmas collection) is the band's most complete creation. It expands on the rock/folk-rock blueprint they have laid, with tightly focused songs that are true to the Venice vision. Their reputation for exceptional vocals remains intact.

The opening set of songs, from "I'll Keep My Fingers Crossed" (where Kipp and the band capture a Donald Fagen/Steely Dan feel) to "Cotton Candy," featuring Mark Lennon’s gorgeous vocal, and the addictive single "Everybody's Opium," set the tone, with laid-back assuredness and an invitation to hum along and tap your feet, whether on a Sunday afternoon or any afternoon you choose. "Blue Ocean Park Waltz," a song ripe with changing time signatures and those ever-present Venice choir-boy harmonies, is another highlight. Those of you who are new to Venice will be dazzled by this crop of songs' striking melodies; you Venice veterans will be rewarded with what you knew was coming all along.

As of this writing, Pacific Standard Time has been released only in Belgium and the Netherlands. A North American release is imminent. More than simply a cult band, Venice is worthy of hit status. With this latest album, it will hopefully be theirs.

Marvin Matthews
April 24, 2005