Monthly Archives: March 2024

Album Review: Floor Space – Maybe This Is It

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Floor Space

photo by @redhatjessy; photo courtesy of Big Picture Media

Album Review of Floor Space: Maybe This Is It

Every once in a while, there’s a new punk-influenced record that captures my attention, something with a freshness – a je ne sais quoi – that places it a notch above other good punk-based offerings. Floor Space‘s Maybe This Is It is a pop-sensible, hook-laden disc that does just that. Stylistically, it brings to mind Green Day and Good Charlotte on various songs, with a hint of chartable alt-rock (Jimmy Eat World?) in there, too. Yeah, this album recalls all your ’00s favorites but with a fresh, updated sound. The sound is aggressive and the lyrics are often complaining, but the songs aren’t plaintive; instead, there’s an energetic enthusiasm throughout the disc that’s infectious.

I hear a lot of pop-punk acts (I mean, I used to hear more several years ago, obviously), and it’s rare one piques my interest the way Floor Space does. There’s not a lot of separation among the very good bands in this genre, and when one stands out, it’s sometimes hard to put your finger on exactly why because it’s usually a combination of a lot of little things. Such is the case for me with Floor Space. This band is special, and I’ll do my best to articulate why as I progress song-by-song through Maybe This Is It.

“Spine” opens up a heavy rhythm section, an aggressive but catchy guitar line, clever verses, and the tunefully shouted, repeated phrase “I wish that you had spine!” It’s a good song. Not my favorite on the album, but it’s a great album-opener, letting the listeners know exactly what they’re in for. “Replay Buttons” is a little more of a Good Charlotte-esque sing-songy pop punk, with a groove you’re sure to sway to.

Floor Space – Maybe This Is It

image courtesy of Big Picture Media

The frenetic pace resumes on “Easier,” which sports the memorable lyrics “I don’t like you, but I don’t like me more” and “it’s real life, oh f*ck, it’s real life.” That second one maybe won’t stick with you as long after the song has ended, but you will sing along to it during the song, so, um, maybe don’t listen to this track at work.

Following, I like the stop-and-go guitar hooks in energetic “Ricochet” and the only slightly less frenetic “Smile While It’s Ending,” but the next track that blows me away is “Aren’t You Sick?”

“Aren’t You Sick?” has a slower, more deliberate pace, but the lyrics about being a band trying to get noticed are a great listen: “Aren’t you sick of the same damn routine? This whole machine. The same ten bands that run the scene, and the gatekeepers that don’t like me. Punk rock politics. Killing yourself to get more clicks…” The vocal rhythm is ideally paced and varied. There’s just enough blank space to draw attention. And the song is well designed to climax at the end with one final “aren’t you sick?” and a distorted guitar chord fade-out.

“Dibs” is the first mellow, melancholic song on the record, and it doesn’t appear until song seven out of ten. I suppose this is the song that’d be the big hit in the ’00s, since this is how bands like Simple Plan and New Found Glory scored their biggest crossover/breakthrough hits. What do I like best about “Dibs”? Gotta be the sax. I’m a big believer that there’s not enough saxophone in rock music anymore, so it’s especially cool to hear it on a pop punk album like this where it particularly unexpected.

“This Again” is an energetic, engaging song about getting over someone – rock song-topic gold, in other words. But it’s the following song, “Self-Destruct” that’ll be the next one to really jump off the disc at you. A different vocal cadence and funky rock rhythm will grab your attention, and a late-song, classic rockin’-almost guitar bridge will help hold it to the end.

The album ends with “Glass Dreams,” driven by a steady, prominent bass line, a playful, tuneful guitar line, and the ultimate singalong vocal line “I’m shitty I admit it when I am wrong.” “Glass Dreams” has the sort of rockin’ guitar-driven power you’ll find on pop-punk songs with staying power and crossover appeal.

Beginning to end, Maybe This Is It a great listen. A fun ride. A good album to get energized to when you’re feeling too mellow. A good record to work off some rage to. You know, whatever you need, as long as energetic music will get the job done. My picks for individual listens would be “Easier,” “Aren’t You Sick?,” “Dibs,” “This Again,” and “Glass Dreams.” OK, so that’s half the album, and I almost also added “Self-Destruct.” Like I said, it’s a really good album.

Looking Ahead

It looks like you’ll be able to catch Floor Space live in the Midwest, on tour with Goalkeeper this spring, starting March 28 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, running through April 6 at Mahall’s Apartment in Lakewood, Ohio. (Hey, when I used to attend Undercurrents Music Conference in the ’90s, the weekend shows were on Detroit Ave. in the blocks around West 117th in Lakewood. That’s a cool little Cleveland suburb. Shoutout to Lakewood!) In-between, the tour hits Minneapolis, Chicago, Tulsa, St. Louis, Nashville, Columbus, OH, and Pontiac, MI. Dates and venues are listed here on this Instagram post. Of course, check with your local venue for tickets and start times.

Single Review: Evick – “To Whom It May Concern”

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image courtesy of Head First Entertainment

Single Review of Evick: “To Whom It May Concern”

Pete Evick was the guitarist for Some Odd Reason, a band that released the album To Whom It May Concern on Sol 3 Records in 1998. Later, as lead singer of Evick, Pete began to reimagine and rerecord some of the material he had written for Some Odd Reason, including, in 2002, “To Whom It May Concern.” A hard drive crash seemingly lost those re-recordings, but 21 years later, the song has been resurrected and released. Pete chose to use the raw, stripped-down vocals from that original recording for this 2023 single release.

“To Whom It May Concern” begins and ends with the phrase “I used to believe in God,” and it chronicles Pete’s struggles with faith, notably though not exclusively during times of war. Pete’s hoarse, gravelly vocals recall singers like Bret Michaels, with “To Whom…” being particularly reminiscent of Poison’s “Something to Believe In.”

Evick’s “To Whom It May Concern” is rawer than the Some Odd Reason original, enhancing the potency of the song’s emotion. The song begins with just vocals and piano from that 2002 demo, with musical support building and becoming more powerful as the song progresses. There’s also a nifty little guitar solo in a late-song bridge that’s worth noticing.

Pete’s role as the Bret Michaels Band’s guitarist is an interesting coincidence – I didn’t realize that connection when I originally compared Pete’s vocals on this song to Bret’s. Still, you can probably guess how you’ll feel about “To Whom It May Concern” based on your answer to the question “Do you like Poison’s ballads, like ‘Something to Believe In’?” If you do, then this song will be right up your alley.

To stay up-to-date on Pete Evick’s latest goings-on, be sure to follow him on Facebook or Instagram. Or you can visit evick.com, where Pete is selling his books, MTV Famous and The Moments That Make Us.

Album Review: Eddie Japan – Pop Fiction

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Eddie Japan

photo by Joshua Pickering; photo courtesy of Eddie Japan

Album Review of Eddie Japan: Pop Fiction

Eddie Japan is one of Boston’s top local rock bands. Stylistically, they’re a big stage-filling, theatrical rock act. At the same time, Eddie Japan is also simply a rock band, a very talented one with its own big style. The best comparison might be to Queen or Meat Loaf but more mid-tempo, closer to the middle than to the hard rock end of the rock spectrum. Eddie Japan is a band with a big personality, one you might dress a little nicer to go see in concert, even if half of the room is still dressed down.

The first five songs are a re-release of the band’s 2019 EP The Amorous Adventures of Edward Japan. But that’s not an EP I had heard before, so the songs are all new to me, and they’re impressive! Those first five songs from Pop Fiction could easily be the soundtrack album from a big Hollywood musical or a cast recording from a Broadway musical. A quirky musical, like The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Or, better yet, Little Shop of Horrors might be a better fit. The rest of the album is stylistically similar, and many of the songs seem thematically related, but they don’t fit quite as neatly and tightly as the first five. It’s just a slight disconnect that doesn’t affect the enjoyment of this beginning-to-end kickass rock album, not even a little, but once I discovered the EP, it made more sense.

So let’s talk about the music. Big songs, a theatrical delivery style for the most part, killer hooks that’ll have you singing the songs for weeks. Pop Fiction is an impressive release. It’s no wonder the band and album received some nominations during the 2023 awards season. At the 2023 New England Music Awards, for example, the band was nominated for Act of the Year. In addition, “Time Machine,” a song Eddie Japan recorded with The Cars’ Greg Hawkes on keyboard, was nominated for Song of the Year and Video of the Year, winning the Video of the Year category with this clever music video. Meanwhile, David Santos received a Vocalist of the Year nomination from the Boston Music Awards.

Eddie Japan is a big, dramatic rock band with an equally big line-up. Or, at least, many – seven! – band members: Eric Brosius (guitars), Emily Drohan (vocals), Chuck Ferreira (drums/percussion), Bart LoPiccolo (guitars) Charles Membrino (bass), Aaron Rosenthal (keyboards), and David Santos (vocals).

Eddie Japan – Pop Fiction

cover design by Todd Alcott; image courtesy of Eddie Japan

Greg Hawkes appears on a pair of the disc’s songs – “I Can’t Wait” and the award-nominated “Time Machine” – and has performed with Eddie Japan on occasion, including for performances of The Cars’ music. You can hear Hawkes’ progressive pop-friendly rock keyboardwork in those songs, but there’s a similar broad-appeal, quirky rock vibe on many of the other tracks, as well. I suppose that’s why the partnership works so well. Could Eddie Japan simply be The Cars but with a more prominent rhythm section and a pair of very different outstandingly talented vocalists? That may be stretching it a little, but they’d certainly have been an ideal pairing at a big arena concert.

The album itself begins with “Edward Descending,” kicking off with a relatively high-tempoed beat. This song leaves a strong first impression and brings to mind a movie musical dance number. Particularly at the end of the song, the vocals bring to mind – for me, at least – one of Meat Loaf’s more theatrical numbers. It’s also the sort of fun, concert-opening song that’ll get a concert hall onto its feet, dancing to the rock music if there’s room to dance. Probably even if there isn’t room.

“Summer Hair,” next, is a smooth, floating, soaring number that starts off innocuous enough but grows on you – as you discover the nuanced arrangement over the course of multiple listens – to become one of your favorites. The singalong lyric here would be: “Take my hand, the summer’s almost gone. I’d rather fall with you than stand on my own.”

It’s followed by an easy quick favorite, “If I Should Fall.” It’s musically and lyrically dynamic with an irresistible rhythm. And what’s creating that rhythmic, bouncy squeak? Is that a keyboard sound? Heck, it almost sounds like the theremin, which I’m only even familiar with because Sheldon had one on The Big Bang Theory. No, not exactly. Regardless, if I wanted to get myself pumped up for a night out or a big event or a competition or even if I was just looking for a song to crank up to fill the dancefloor, this would be my choice. And, let’s say, I wanted to dance around my house, with the shades drawn so none of my friends or neighbors could see me jumping around like a lunatic? Yes, this would be the song. (Not that I’ve ever done that, of course.)

Next, “The Dandy of Suburbia” is a slower-paced number, melancholic, and lyrically clever. Then “Undertow” with its singalong phrase “do you want, do you want, do you want, do you want me now” follows, serving as a solid lead-in to the first post-Amorous EP track, “I Can’t Wait,” with its pulsing rhythm, palpable tension, and periodic musical eruptions, climaxing twice with the lyrics “Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh! I get away!” in the middle of the song, before calming down a bit, but returning again near the end.

Eddie Japan

photo by Jenny Bergman; photo courtesy of Eddie Japan

Next up, “Lost Weekend” is a fun, Eddie Japan-ified mid-tempo rocker, one of my faves on this disc, that’d be one of the more charismatic songs on most rock bands’ albums but is almost tame compared to some of the more theatrical songs in this collection.

“Walk Away” brings a bit more energy and power, though its style is still straightforward rock ‘n roll, with plenty of raucous guitar and drums but also some of those nifty pop-infused quirky keyboard rock sounds you might expect from a Beantown band with a clear Cars connection.

“Time Machine,” which is accompanied by this award-winning video, is a peppy classic pop-rock number. You can hear Greg Hawkes’ contribution here, though the hand-claps and the steady guitar riffs also contribute to the song’s very ’80s pop-rock hit flavor, resulting in another broad-appeal favorite from this album.

Penultimate track “The Pull of the Moon” is slow, airy, and eerily dramatic (also, lyrically dramatic: “I will not dance with your cold lunacy…”), with occasional builds to power, though still just a soft power. Very atmospheric and cool.

“Rented Rooms” concludes the disc with a song that ties things together very… well, as Eddie Japan might say, cinematically. The song has a big sound, a bouncy rhythm, and intriguing lyrics, such as “And now she stands before me as naked as a flower, and I’m searching for my higher self in a room rented by the hour.” Indeed, just like the preceding EP, this song itself is an amorous adventure. And, musically, a fun final song to an album that’s a party-on-a-disc from beginning to end.

Pop Fiction is an engagingly fun listen. It’s well-written, elaborately instrumented, potentially interesting to audiophiles and casual listeners alike. With its crossover appeal, it’s one of those albums that will have an honored place in music collections of fans spanning a broad range of pop and rock subgenres because, while it does have that broad appeal, Pop Fiction is unlikely to be like anything else in your collection. If you’ve not yet heard the album, give it a listen.

Looking Ahead

The “Shows” page on the band’s website lists a Saturday, May 11th gig in Plymouth, MA and a Saturday, September 28th show in Malden, MA. Eddie Japan also performs the music of The Cars with Greg Hawkes. You can find several upcoming dates listed on the “w/ Greg Hawkes” page of the website, with the next show on Friday, May 3rd in Old Saybrook, CT (as confirmed by this Instagram post). Additional dates listed include Friday, June 28th in Sellersville, PA, Saturday, June 29th in Annapolis, MD, Saturday, July 13th in Natick, MA, Saturday, July 20th in Toronto, and a Saturday, August 10th show listed simply as “TBA.” The band also announces upcoming gigs on Facebook and Instagram, so those are alternative sources for show information. These are definitely must-see shows if you’re local to one of those cities or if Eddie Japan adds a gig near you.