Ex-Candy vocalist Kyle Vincent looks like a man out of time on the cover of his new self-titled CD. Red bellbottoms, shag haircut and Beatle boots adorn the man as he walks pensively through a woodsy nature scene. The picture suits the lyrics perfectly, as Vincent dreams of days gone by, lost love and happier, innocent times. But the only thing retro about the music is the influence, as these twelve songs glean the best elements of pop greats like The Rubinoos and Eric Carmen and plant them squarely into 1997.
If parts of the record have the sunny, jangly essence of classic power pop bands, it's no accident - Vincent co-wrote a few songs with two of pop's best purveyors of that sound. Ironically, although Tommy Dunbar is all over this record, it's the songs written with Parthenon Huxley that sound like great lost Rubinoos songs. "Arianne", the kickoff track, starts off with a riff not unlike Jules Shear's "If She Knew What She Wants" (speaking of pop gems) and features Vincent's effortless and impressive upper range.
This is by no means a "power" pop record, though. Half the songs are feathery light and are reminiscent of some of Eric Carmen's solo work ("One Good Reason" is Carmen incarnate, right down to the strings). Technically, Vincent has one of the sweetest, purest voices in pop, and it is especially evident when laid bare against piano and strings or a similar sparse arrangement. An avowed lover of pop music, Vincent's songwriting reflects what must have been thousands of nights falling asleep listening to an AM radio under his pillow. Unabashedly a fan of some artists considered lightweights (we're talking about a guy who sneaked out of school to attend Karen Carpenter's funeral!), he eschews what's "cool" for what he truly enjoys.
Although there's arguably not a bad song on the record, Vincent shines best when he fronts the more uptempo material like "It Wasn't Supposed To Happen" and especially the killer single "Wake Me Up When The World's Worth Waking Up For". The latter, with its jangly guitars, slapping drumbeat and infectious chorus, is tailor made for radio. Maybe if we all rolled down the car windows and turned this up really loud, more people would make great songs like this.
