After releasing two regular solo albums, a limited edition collection of covers and a compilation, all of them to an international critical acclaim, the Australian “all-around-pop-guy” is coming back down the “King’s Road”, this time reinforced with an Aussie-power-pop all star line up of his backing band.
As he says himself, his main goal with this album was to get back to his own sound, after being tired of the “pick the reference” game. Though I really do think that this could easily be Michael’s best offering to date, I can still hear the influences, which is not a bad thing at all!
For a long time now, I tend to think that all the songs have already been written, and now it’s all about rearranging the chord sequences.
If you’re a true music fan, I’d find it VERY strange to realize that you don’t hear the Costello-Byrds brace in The One For Me, the Nazz-y power chords with some evident Beatlisms (just like in Todd’s case) in the opening Nothing In The World, the good old fashioned Raspberries/Rubinoos power-pop stylings of Here It Comes or No Way Out, or the west coast-ish sunshiny harmonies of the even-more-jangly-Fannies-like Summertime.
The combination of Michael’s radio-friendly voice, often resembling the one of fellow popster, Kyle Vincent (check out You’re So Alone for example), with most of the songs’ HIT potential, could really take him way-up-high.
So Michael, don’t let the “pick the reference” game bother you anymore, because it will always be around.
When one hears The Byrds, The Beatles, The Raspberries or Costello in some of your songs, what they really hear is not a duplicate, but actually a song that some of these artists “forgot” to write down along their way, and only a few guys like you have been given the God-like gift to make them come alive.
[Released by Laughing Outlaw 2003]
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