Brooklyn’s Skidmore Fountain is a collection of eclectic musicians, Randy Bergida (vocals/guitar), Topu Lyo (cello/vocals), and Steven Cohen (guitar/vocals) who produce alternative pop that has plenty of soundscapes with orchestral touches. If The Flaming Lips and Coldplay teamed up with Jeff Lynne adding a rare flourish, you’d get close to this band’s sound. Opening with a combination of violins and guitars, “Asylum” boasts an impressive array of instrumentation and driving beat to Bergida’s vocal. The highlight early on for me was “Drive By Reflection” where the simple guitar rhythms merge from a Cure-like narrative to a rich orchestral tapestry. The ghostly harmonies, handclaps and guitar breaks of “When The Sun Comes” is a loose series of sketches, rather than a structured song. It’s almost like a pop version of free form jazz. Too often, despite the musicianship, we are missing the hooks here on long winding tracks. Sometimes this doesn’t hurt a song like “Cloudless” or “Whole World” where the melodies and musical textures hold everything together fine. The gorgeous harmonies are upfront on “Sun In The Sky” with a vivid image of beach heat making this my favorite track. Other tracks like “Anyone Around” get too loose, and it almost becomes an extended reggae jam – some listeners will appreciate all the sonic details, but if you’re looking for quick pop songs under three minutes look elsewhere. I have to admit the songs have a soothing quality I don’t find in most pop music.

MySpace | CD Baby

First in Space was formed in 2006 by Johnny Stanec and Dolus McCormick. After touring the Midwest, they honed their sound and recorded this album in 2007.  As a debut the music is polished and professional and makes an excellent impression. These guys play straight up rock and roll here, “Jenny” opening the album with strong guitar chords and drumming, but it gets even better as the album plays on. I took notice of the melodic “Taken For Granted” which remind me of both Tom Petty and Joe Jackson. The awesome “What You Need” has a Posies flavor to it that was just catchy and  irresistible. The band brings classic rock harmonies to these tracks that help make them true pop gems. With the longer cuts “Anything At All” and “I Let You Down” it tends to get more standardized in sound. But the power pop comes through in the richly detailed “Lock It Away” and those great builds to a chorus in “Wasted Time” will definitely be appreciated by music connoisseurs. Other songs have varied influences, “In The Water” and “Last One” have a slight REM vibe, but the group has a sound that merely  touches these influences without sacrificing any originality. Worth the effort here, and a new album is already in the works! 

MySpace | Itunes