Scroll down for reviews of the latest from David Garza and Maple Mars. Click here for reviews of Cockeyed Ghost, Bella Da Gama, Jack and the Beanstalk, Chitlin' Fooks and The Dickies.

Scot Sax
Scot Sax

(Not Lame)

notlame.com

Scot Sax has two vocal personas, both with a soulful veneer. When doing more straightforward pop, he comes across kind of like Glenn Tilbrook, but with a bit less precision than the literate Squeeze frontman. Other numbers have an overt R & B influence, and then his vocals come off as a cross between George Michael and David Garza (and I mean that as a compliment). This latter approach pays handsome dividends for Sax, lifting this disc out of the ranks of standard guitar pop.
"Feng Shui" is the groove deluxe on the album and could very well be the first song on a Not Lame release that deserves a Jellybean Benitez remix. Bassist Mark Getten and drummer David Shaffer lock into the hypercatchy, rump shaking rhythm while Sax sweetly croons the chorus melody. Sax narrates the verses (not dexterous enough to qualify as hip hop, and I don't think he's trying to rap anyway) while the band just keeps the beat going. Simple as hell, but deadly in its effect, this song should be pounding out of boom boxes on beaches throughout the land.

Another fine R & B laced number is "Please Disregard", which mixes simmering underplayed funk rhythms with a bevy of melodic ideas and a vocal chops tour-de-force, where Sax goes from calm to storm to begging to observational - you get the idea. This song has at least four identifiable hooks.
Those of you who have been Sax fans since his days in Wanderlust, fear not, he still wields his axe for proper powerpop purposes. "100 Girls" is a clever twist on the standard 'you're the one I have to have' theme: "Must be a hundred girls, but I only need one/I know there's a billion stars, but I see one/dreaming a thousand dreams, but they're all the same". This song is a cousin to Wreckless Eric's "(I'd Go the) Whole Wide World", and crackles with life. "I Keep Running" is a terrific ballad, all gentle acoustic guitars and wonderful melodic underpinning by Mark Getten. And "Lifetime" has one of those sparkling, large sounding, choruses, on par with Tommy Keene or Adam Schmitt.

The rock and bop worlds of Sax collide in spectacular fashion on "Weird Life", which has the piano bounce of classic McCartney combined with a sassy vibe that suggests that Prince stopped by to impart some wisdom. The guitar work on this tune is exemplary.

All in all, this is a fine solo debut. If the wheel of radio fortune turns in the direction of pop, Sax's original spin on the genre could come up a winner.

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Maple Mars
Welcome To Maple Mars

(Permanent Press)

permanentpress.net

Wide screen powerpop with a sci-fi jones, in the tradition of great 'outer space' rockers like "L5" by Fools Face and Ross' "Supersonic Spacewalk." Former Double Naught Spies dude Rick Hromadka is the protagonist - an ordinary looking guy with the magical ability to take classic influences like Electric Light Orchestra and Cheap Trick and make fresh and compelling songs with universal appeal. Joined by trusty drummer sidekick Mike Fletcher, this Maple Mars dynamic duo navigates its way through a diverse collection of excellently produced tunes.
In addition to the two aforementioned influences, Maple Mars evokes scads of other favorites. That is, Maple Mars isn't copying these favorites, as much as MM shares the same characteristics (great vocals, rocking guitars, hummable melodies, etc.). In fact, here are some of the artists who came to mind during my most recent spin of this disc: Chris Von Sneidern, E'Nuff Z'Nuff, Splitsville, Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, Weezer, The Shazam, Winston Churchill, The Beatles, 10CC, The Shazam, Thurman Munson, Jason Falkner, Edmund Teller, Love Nut, Sweet and Jerry Manuel. (Please note, while listening to the disc, I was channel surfing between ESPN Classic and the History Channel, so this may have clouded a few of these evocations).

What's my point? This album offers something for everyone, not because it's pandering, but because Hromadka is spectacularly talented. So talented that in a blindfolded taste test, I'd bet that Jeff Lynne would swear he wrote "I Thought I Knew You Well". And wish he wrote the lush "When Atlas Falls", with its anthemic chorus.

"Perfect Song" doesn't live up to its title, but it comes pretty damn close. The soft acoustic beginning sets up the theme: "I finally wrote for you the perfect song/it's just a shame that you're not here to sing along." Hromadka's electric guitar looms behind the second couplet, before the song explodes (add The Merrymakers and Eggstone to the list two paragraphs up) into guitar heaven. The song has a hooky chorus, an even better middle eight, dynamics, cool backing vocals, nifty effects and a driving guitar solo. Other than that, there's not much to it.
"Fly" is a soaring mid-tempo tune, countering the ascending melody in the chorus with an urgent guitar riff and Hromadka's best vocal - I hear bits of Tom Petty, David Gilmour and Chris Von Sneidern - a poppy voice, but with a bit of an edge. "Silver Spy Satellite" is another pretty stunner, Steve Berns playing a delicate rhythm on the drums (kind of a lunar bossa nova) while Hromadka's slide guitar work adds to the wistfulness. Meanwhile, "Souvenir" is a bopping rocker, which is a must for future Maple Mars gigs on the Planet Budokan.

The contest for best debut platter of the year will be quite the battle. This is one of the major contenders.

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David Garza
Overdub

(Lava/Atlantic)

Release date: July 17, 2001

atlantic-recording.com

In 1999, David Garza went national - a post-modern pop star poised for popularity in the new millennium. A poster worthy Mexican-American with talent to burn, This Euphoria showed off a diverse talent who could grab you with a melodic pop chestnut, make you shake your ass with a dance beat and then knock you on your aforementioned ass with a rocker in the spirit of Hendrix or Zeppelin.

This follow up shows Garza continuing to load styles into his song factory. It's even more of a rocker, for better in some spots, for worse in others. The disc is solidly grounded in the blues - the first half of the disc front loads the more rocking blooz based stuff, while the second half tends more towards classic pop and R & B. It's not as good as its predecessor. Still, it confirms that Garza is a major talent, who may just need some help in corralling the many brilliant ideas that are obviously moshing through his brainpan.

The slow semi-funk 'radio sucks' rant "Say Baby" seems to provide the answer to the question, "What if Prince recorded Time Out Of Mind instead of Bob Dylan?"

"Drone" is the companion piece to "Say Baby", another Dylan-meets-Prince stream-of-conscious tune with trashy blues guitar, a repetitive rhythm and a crimped careening melody that has slight Middle Eastern overtones, which fits the ranting nature of the lyrics. Meanwhile, "God's Hands" (one of a few tracks with religious references) has a mystic guitar line inspired by Jimmy Page matching Garza's Robert Plant-playful vocal. "Blow My Mind" is a turn up the amps Fender-blast.
The melodies finally start seeping in on "Soul Custody", which has a mid-'80s U2 instrumental feel, but Garza doesn't testify like Bono, instead infusing his passion with a characteristic sexuality. Often throughout the album, when Garza gets near the top of his range, a jealous guy would be best advised to cover his girlfriend's ears, or risk losing her ardor forever.
The simple piano and slinky percussion of "Too Much" are an intoxicating blend. Garza is at his most soulful, accentuating the proceedings with ace bluesy guitar fills. I'm sure he had to take a cold shower after getting down this take. "Keep On Crying" is another basic piano-based piece, Garza's vibrato-heavy vocal encouraging a cheating lover to feel like shit for what she did to him. There is a sudden melodic twist about two-thirds of the way through this tune that proves Garza's pop mastery.

Garza's self-production favors a compressed sound that allows his falsetto and lead guitar licks to shine above the predominant mid-range and bass sounds. Speaking of bass, The Rolling Stones' Doug Wimbush plays on most tracks and Julianna Hatfield stopped by briefly. One day, they'll be glad to have Garza play on THEIR records.

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