I was not keen on Maple Mars’ “Circular Haze” which I thought got too trippy and tried a bit too hard. So I wasn’t sure what to expect four years later with “Beautiful Mess” and I was pleasantly surprised. Guitarist Rick Hromadka (formally of the LA based Double Naught Spies) has done an excellent job here balancing the power pop and the psychedelic sound that he does so well. The opening song “Beautiful Mess” is equal parts Mick Ronson and Queen with a little Beatles thrown in. “Listen” is an awesome mix of the psychedelic and lush pop orchestration, sounds like it belongs on Badfinger’s “Straight Up.” A lighter touch on tracks like “Breathe Deep” make this release so enjoyable. The guitar work on “Fell Of The Cloud” rivals The Cloud Eleven for smoothness and laid back California style. This approach works beautifully to a cover of 10cc’s “I’m not in Love” that will give you goosebumps for sure. The ballad “Between Two Worlds” shimmering guitar solo is similar to a lost ELO tune sung by Todd Rundgren and will demand repeat listens. There are other ballads here “Apology” and “Sweetest Dream” do an amazing job of establishing an atmosphere and the vocal overlays and chords in “Sweetest Dream” remind me of classic Cyrkle. With no misses and so many hits, this easily makes it a Top Ten contender of 2007.
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