Kelley Stoltz - Below The Branches
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Rolling Stone Rating: 3.5
Kelley Stoltz is a savvy songwriter, but his songs have an almost guileless, unadulterated appeal. In 2001, the San Francisco troubadour recorded, produced, pressed and distributed his teensy, critically acclaimed psych-rock debut, Antique Glow (he also created the album's artwork), and on Below the Branches, Stoltz continues in that DIY vein, playing the majority of the instruments on each track himself. It sounds like he had a lot of fun making this record: The bouncy opening track, "Wave Goodbye," is a summer-camp ditty that recalls "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" -- all strummy guitar and percussive piano, with lyrics ("Pack your worries in a suitcase/Send them off and wave goodbye") that herald the rest of the album's freewheeling Sixties-ish idealism. "Ever Thought of Coming Back" is a Beach Boys homage par excellence -- a song of runaway love replete with a sunshiny pop melody and layered vocal harmonies, cut with just enough bitterness ("Jesus Christ, what you been doing all this time?")...
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