Zach Hexum, The Story So Far

Zack Hexum's sound harks back to the '70s and '80s (think Paul McCartney, Tears for Fears, and Squeeze) - a keyboard-heavy soft rock with power-pop highlights. Nothing at all like his brother Nick's band, 311.

But while the sound and sensibility aren't new, the songs on The Story So Far are outstanding, and as I've said a gazillion times before, good songs are what it's all about. The lyrics are both fluid and sharp, often putting a unique slant on common feelings, as in "Simple City": "I saw a yin yang girl today she was black and white / She was a pile on a chair pale and dark / She wore a shirt that left her breast for all of us to see / I wanna color her and then maybe we'll be / In Simple City soon / Just staring at the moon / Will you be there? / Can I take you there?" And the melodies are fresh and catchy and quirky all at once.

"All I Want," "One Spin," "Sun Still Shines," and "Met a Girl Like You Once" are are among my favorites, but the songwriting shines throughout. Hexum's voice is a flexible though not amazingly strong instrument; he makes the most of it, singing his intelligent lyrics archly enough to be interesting and emotively enough to be lyrical.

Very highly recommended.

The Animators, How We Fight

The Animators' sophomore effort is almost like two albums on one CD. The first five songs make up a set of gorgeous power pop. Several of these songs borrow, and sometimes exaggerate, the grunge technique of quiet verses and loud choruses. "It's Good To Be Here" establishes the pattern, with meaty guitar refrains and the plaintive, sensitive-guy delivery that lead singer Devon Copley is very good at but not restricted to. The section ends with "How Do I Get Over You," a power ballad that feels to me like the heart of the album and deserves to be a classic.

The rest of the CD is more varied and experimental, starting with the acidic "The Senator Goes To Hell" with its Dixieland tuba and angular honky-tonk piano. The song - about, I'm guessing, Strom Thurmond - pulls no punches: "no matter how deep they bury him, he's gonna smell / the senator goes to hell." The circus-y arrangement of "Good Day" would make Brian Wilson proud, while R&B flavored, anti-consumerist call to action "Buy Buy" with its irresistible chorus suggests something Pete Townshend might have written after accidentally wandering into a Wal-Mart.