ABOUT BOTTLE OF POP
Bottle of Pop offers an updated take on neo-seventies pop. Sometimes breezily soulful with radio-friendly melodies; other times, darkly, almost classically, elegant. The album showcases all manner of influences, including Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Boz Skaggs and Todd Rundgren as well as modern masters such as Lewis Taylor and Phoenix.
Prominent tracks include the brash acoustic-driven rock of ‘Controversy’s Bride’, the retro funk of ‘Playbook’ and the magisterial coming-of-age ballad ‘Smile And Wave’.
It's lyrically diverse too – exploring many aspects of modern life (and death) in topics such as technology, celebrity culture, online dating, career crises and even hangovers.The words often embody the mood of the melodies instead of the other way around, further alluding to deeper narratives that take more than a couple of listens to fully grasp and appreciate.
The band has a lot to get off of their chest. You don’t have to be a professional music critic to recognize how passionate this man is about his work, as he takes advantage of almost every opportunity to exhibit his love for the craft. Yet, for all its diversity, Bottle of Pop still manages to sound both coherent and contemporary.
The singing is part of this – sweet and soulful with a certain yearning quality. There’s a lot of melodic muscle being flexed behind the microphone, which also showcases the multidimensionality of the songs. The vocal delivery is essentially what makes the black-and-white lyricism sound more colourful and driven by pure passion.
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The songs are full of surprises.
They stradle unorthodox key changes, unexpected codas and unusual sonic references. They are backed by extensive arrangements, sometimes featuring brass and strings to augment the core guitar band. By inviting shades of 70’s singer/songwriter aesthetics into a wholly cerebral, modern alternative sound, this isn’t exactly a new concept, but Bottle of Pop has made it sound more refreshing than it has in a long time.
with an ear for the softer side of the genre really can’t go wrong with this album. It stirs us with its melodic buoyancy, breaks away from disturbingly plastic trends in modern alternative music and flanks familiar, 70s-like songwriting concepts with something a little more postmodern and on the pulse of millennial interests.
While the subject matter occasionally gets a little dark, there is always an uplifting tone. For all its quirkiness, this is an easy album to listen to. And, once you’ve heard it, you’ll be listening a lot.
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