My Favorite Revolution (2004) ***1/2
Albums like these are a reviewer's nightmare. I struggle to find something, anything interesting to say about an album that offers nothing new or unusual to the listener, but simply meat & potatoes power-pop, 14 ringingly Byrds-ey, rockingly melodic and melodically rocking tunes of the like that Tom Petty hasn't written in nearly 20 years. Edwards is not by far the first to plumb this sort of territory, but he does so with the utmost heartfelt sincerity and winsome craft. As is often the case with power-pop longplayers, most of the songs are pleasantly ordinary, but there are a handful of impossibly catchy A+ numbers: the hit single misfire, "Congratulations, My Darling"; the melancholy torch ballad, "Next Time You Go," which provides a welcome change of pace and tempo from all the mid-tempo jangly guitar rockers; the admonitory, "Shattered Flower," easily the album's highlight, boasting a circular hook guaranteed to be swirling in your head days afterward; and the sentimental "I'd Like To Think So," in which he imagines an old sweetheart as a housewife with children. Whether you enjoy the genre or not should determine the level of enjoyment you'll likely get out of this.
Since you'll be hard pressed to find a copy in shops, I'm going to share a link where you can download it. If the taste pleases your ears, go buy a copy, I'm sure he needs the money (unless he's scored gigs as an LA session musician in the interim). The blog I'm linking to has loads more neat offerings, it's a treasure trove if you're on the search for more power-pop. And when's the last time you heard a neat, fun little power-pop album? 'Tis the season, make it a stocking stuffer for your ears.
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