April 2021 REVIEWS

by Mike Baron

DOLPH CHANEY – This Is Dolph Chaney (Big Stir)

Mostly Dolph Chaney with a few friends, this sprawling pop landscape covers a lot of territory. Dolph sings like Lane Steinberg and some of his songs channel Steinberg’s Broadway-informed sense of melody, but there’s also a lot of rock here, riddled with prog streaks, as on “Status Unknown,” the first song. “I Wanted You” is big, dramatic, with Doug Powell bones. Chaney favors unexpected chord progressions, traces of stadium rock, as ithe Journey-like “Now I Am A Man.” “Pleasant Under Glass” sounds like a Billy Joel/Chris Von Sneidern collaboration. “My Good Twin” could be a Steinberg composition. “He’s shaven clean; I have to wear the goatee. I like ‘Behind Blue Eyes,’ but he likes ‘I’m Free.’” You can hear the Who in the anthemic “Scales.” “Worship Song” is sure to infuriate rabid secularists. Other Christian rock bands take note: this is how you write a major chord without boring the listener.

“Graveyard Shift” ends the album with hushed urgency and a tom-tom beat.

THE STAN LAURELS: There Is No Light Without The Dark (Big Stir)

A sometimes ethereal, sometimes stomping fever dream of an album, with prog urges. First song “Florida Man” makes me think John Lathrop, who is the Stan Laurels, has been spying on me. “You really know just how to reel me in, even though you’re a bathsthit comic villain. Or Florida, it’s time for me to run.”On “Tomorrow,” Lathrop favors flattened, horizontal song structure, like the Hush Drops and the Blank Pages, both of whom are exceptional. Catchy and different. By the end of the album Lathrop’s esthetic is clear. He has a distinctive sound and you can pick him out of a crowd. The instrumentation, unexpected progressions and harmonies are Brian Wilson like. But you would never confuse them. The loping “Mateo’s Song” sounds like a Wilson/Van Dyke Parks comp, the melody floating like a silk scarf. “Mo Collins” another shimmering rocker. Reminds me of Field Music.

The package is first-rate with a disc sleeve, like you get with vinyl, good graphics and complete lyrics. Give me physical product every time. You’ll need reading glasses.

JOE NORMAL & THE ANYTOWN’RS: Stuck In A Job (Big Stir)

Two songs mainlining blue collar roots rock. “Stuck In A Job” is roadhouse rock, the kind of band you dream of stumbling on. Joe works that strat, flinging sweat off his forehead as he half sings, half talks his way through “Stuck In A Job,” which should be the national anthem. “Living In The Borough” can get you in trouble while driving. Can’t wait to hear this guy’s album.