Nick Capaldi “The Golden Summer” EP
A budding star is evidenced by Nick Capaldi’s The Golden Summer is a short EP with its glossy power pop. The opener “In My Shoes” is a catchy Tears For Fears styled pop hit that’s ready for radio, and “Dumb it All Up” another gem with its infectious beat has mellotron and horn flourishes. Next, “The Right Time” is an light airy ballad with swelling strings, reminding me of Seth Swirsky and closer “First of the Runaways” has a great Andrew Gold styled piano melody. Each song is a potential hit here, so you’ll want to check out his previous album, A Shade of Orange with fresh ears. Easily one of the best EPs this year.
The Fadeout “Shapes of Animals”
The Fadeout are a band from Montreal that specialize in sun-drenched melodies that take its cue from the Beach Boys playbook with a twee touch. Staring with the light “Wake Up (I’m Not There)” the band uses the same instrumentation and harmonies as the Wilson brothers or Phil Spector pioneered. Lead singer Sacha Philippe Hebert-Jodoin has a slightly fey, high-pitched vocal (similar to a young Michael Quercio) that is very soothing.
Each song follows a consistent pattern with some nice compositions found in “Sinkin’ Ship” and the “Sloop John B” clone “Fantasy.” And therein lies the problem, as the band fails to move beyond their influences to keep things catchy or memorable. The group certainly has the skills and talent to pull it off, but they need better songwriting to move forward.
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