Andy Goldberg is at it again and would you believe he can top the shining “Hooks, Lines & Sinkers”? I think with “Under the Radar,” Andy joins the pantheon of great power pop singer-songwriters, artists like Michael Carpenter, Willey Wisely and Mike Viola. The Beatles-inspired opener “Please Won’t You Please” will hook you for good, complete with the multi-tracked harmonic sweetness and Rickenbacker guitars. I am convinced Rich Pagano is really Ringo reincarnated (well, he was part of the Fab Faux). And this is no one-hit-wonder, as the next tune “Ain’t Gonna Stop” is a lovely mid-tempo Badfinger meets The Red Button type song. The hooks pile on as well in “Feel The Sun” – and I dare you not to do handclaps to this one! Then “Water Blue” shuffles into a mellow place, like if Air Supply was fronted by The Hudson Brothers. All the tunes here are fantastic and that Hudson Brothers meets George Harrison vibe follows through the rest of the album. The next song, “Missing You” has a bit of Jeff Lynne, with those amazing chord changes that stick in your head all day. Andy could’ve easily over-produced any of these songs, but he doesn’t and that’s what separates the men from the boys here. Nothing weak here and the balance between vocal and instrumental professionalism is perfect. This is easily on my best of 2008 list. Don’t miss it. It’s a Kool Kat Musik release – so get it now.
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To say Andrew Sandoval is prolific is the height of understatement. He’s recorded and toured with Dave Davies (of the Kinks) and produced reissues of classic baroque pop and rock artists from The Beach Boys to the Zombies and loads of bands in between. In 2005 he wrote THE book on The Monkees and is a DJ with weekly radio show called “Come To The Sunshine” on www.luxuriamusic.com. So how’s the music he does on his own? I compare him to a modern day Curt Boettcher, using light melody and multi-tracked harmonies that even makes a song titled “I Hate Your Guts” sound like a gentle love poem. Andrew is a baroque pop specialist and has a delicate touch to each song similar to Micheal Penn. A good mix of Beach Boys, Van Dyke Parks and Zombies are influences for Andrew’s own laid back California-styled ballads. “From Me To You” goes through several songs about the cycle of heartbreak (what else). A standout here is the Pet Sounds meets Everly Brothers tune “Something For You.” The lyrics are earnest, if sappy and “Something Warm” brings back memories of The Turtles best ballads. What else can I say? This is truly a perfect album “for a blue afternoon in your lonely room.”