Kelley Stoltz - Below The Branches
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www.adequacy.net Rating: 0
The other day, I was in the grocery story in search of the usual necessities (beer, gum, oatmeal, frozen orange juice, etc.), when all of a sudden I was delighted to hear unquestionably the greatest ex-Beatles solo record ever – Ringo Starr’s “Photograph” – playing on the intercom system. It was three minutes of pure pop sensory bliss that brought a level of excitement to the mundane more powerful than any Buddhist proselytizing or Andy Warhol-designed soup can. Then, the very next morning, I put on Kelly Stolz’s Bellow the Branches, listened to the first few seconds of the Ringo Starr-esque “Wave Goodbye,” and realized there was no way I was not going to like this record. Below the Branches is the kind of record true lovers of classic 60s and 70s pop can adore. At the same time, the disc is completely lacking in any of the infantilism or self-conscious kitchiness that marred many underground pop records of the last decade and a half. Not coincidentally, like other classic pop freaks of nature such as Todd Rundgren and Stevie Wonder, Kelley Stoltz plays most of the instruments himself. What makes Below the Branches such a fun listen is the way in which almost every song hearkens backs to a great pop band of yesterday while at the same time sounding thoroughly modern. From Abbey Road-era Beatles (“Words”) to The Kinks (“Every Thought of Coming Back”) to Tommy-era Who (“Mystery”) to Badfinger (“Memory Collector”) to ELO (“The Sun Coming Through”), Kelley Stoltz delivers a perfect distillation of the best of authentic classic rock with a postmodern polish. Then there are numbers like “Summer's Easy Feeling,” “Little Lords,” and “The Rabbit Hugged the Hound” that actually could be mistaken for songs you would hear blaring...
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