Justin Levinson and The Valcours “This Side Of Me, This Side Of You”
Boston based Levinson has been exploring other sounds since his debut years ago, and this new album really showcases that growth. With his new band The Valcours he opens things up with a strong piano melody and punchy beat on “Water Wears The Rock” remind me of Ben Wilkins. Next up, “You Became a Ghost” is a very tight arrangement with great harmonies that will appeal to fans of Ben Folds.

Lyrically its smart and serves up tales of heartbreak like on “Let You Go,” where a fight goes bad (“I will bring my white flag out… let me go”) and the orchestral & horn flourishes are a great touch. “Bar Scene” is like an updated version of “Piano Man,” where the singer is a bitter star (“I used to be somebody”) wallowing in his insecurities. It requires a few listens to get the songs to stick… but stick they do. No real clunkers and standouts include “I’ll Be Okay,” “Million Tears” and the stunning final track “If You’re Happier.” A great return to melodic form – don’t miss it.

Bill Schulz “Bill Schulz”
Smack in the middle of cheese-head country (Green Bay, WI) musician Bill Schulz has assembled a polished collection of songs, with an eye on both lushness and spartan production. What stood out to me are two excellent songs, one is the gentle ballad “Olivia” with its looping piano melody and Bill’s hushed vocal is similar to Eric Matthews. The other is “Future Butterfly” a perfectly shimmering guitar hook with echos of Nilsson and Jon Brion. There are other styles of pop here, like the Prince styled minimalist funk of “Everything That You Do” and the nice strumming bounce on “Nothing To Say,” but it’s a pretty strong contrast from the styles of those “hit” singles. Other songs, while listenable aren’t that memorable and a few (“Coal Mine”) feel more like musical doodles.

After the heavenly Beach Boys harmonies of Freedom Wind, Explorers Club moves forward five years to the early 70’s AM soft rock era. Starting with a Pet Sounds styled instrumental intro, the horns blast out the first single “Run Run Run,” a hook filled gem with lush orchestration similar to The 5th Dimension. Then the guitar and multiple vocals of “Anticipatin'” make it a dead ringer for a lost Grass Roots tune.

You’ll have lots of fun playing “spot the influence” on each track – like the BJ Thomas shuffle on “Bluebird,” then the Sergio Mendes-Burt Bacharach (“Grand Hotel”), and Neil Diamond (“Go For You”) – in fact the last 3 tracks lean heavily on Neil’s style (thanks to Beach Boys’ engineer Mark Linnett). I could go on and on… The arrangements and musicianship are flawless throughout, but only a handful of tracks really stick in your head. Many are too short, and after getting started seem to end abruptly (“Any Little Way”). However when the band lays down several beautiful harmonies on “Summer Days, Summer Nights” and “It’s You,” its thrilling. And it’s hard to get mad at filler as sweet as “Acapulco (Sunset).” Overall, a visit to Grand Hotel is a pleasant nostalgic trip.