CD Review - Green To Think - “Liar Like Me”

There was a period of three years in the mid 1990’s when I was an exile from pop music. My attentions were consumed by world beat and the renaissance of swing music. So when I came back to pop in the early 2000’s, I was unaware of the new jangle-pop and grunge rock groups like Matchbox Twenty, Nine Days, Marcie’s Playground, and Everclear. Most of what I heard on the mighty Clear Channel retro stations playing these groups seemed so been there, done that to me, and really didn’t capture my interest.

But now that I’ve heard New Jersey’s own Green To Think, its possible I overlooked some quality stuff from those nineties bands. There is no doubt that the group is heavily influenced by this musical time period, and they have captured the spirit of these bands and more with their most recent release “Liar Like Me”. This album is like the cool, stripped down and souped-up Camaro’s found in high school parking lots all over the country, completely revved and waiting to take its owner down some dangerous curves at high speed.

The band consists of Steve and David Piperno on vocals and guitar, drummer Ken Adessa, and Chris Smith on bass. From the opening chords of “Dear Urgency”, the energy here is vibrant, with deeply moving songs about loss, romance and family. For me, the group hits its pinnacle with the song “Prisoner of War”, which describes the separation of a couple due to the Iraq conflict. In a tip of the hat to the Ben Folds Five, it is filled with the pain, anxiety, and the deep aching that comes with the possibility of a loved one not returning home alive.

What is most impressive about “Liar Like Me” is the substance of each song. The writing is a bit more searching than many other bands, more willing to plumb the depths of the soul. But musically, Green To Think creates a number of multi-textured compositions, much like a finely woven canvas for Steven Piperno to paint his intense self-portraits on. It’s rare to find a rock band that takes the time to really craft a song as this group does. Ensemble rock groups like The Who, Led Zeppelin, and early Genesis subsided back in the seventies, but Green To Think has resurrected the form, and the artisanship separates the band from their more successful and more generic alternative rockers.

Much has been made in the press about Steven Piperno recording the project in his spare bedroom. While that may be an interesting sidebar, it’s not terribly surprising. I’ve heard wonderful recordings made in similar places with rather ordinary equipment. David Slutes of Sand Rubies fame (does anyone remember the Sand Rubies?) and Lee Joseph from Dionysus Records made dozens of marketable, brilliantly recorded albums the same way. It proves that DIY sometimes is the most artistically sensible way to go.

Regardless of the recording environment, Green To Think has fashioned a remarkable album which stands by itself without all the attitude and flash of so many other bands. The band is the worn, comfortable blue jeans slung over a bedroom chair that better characterizes the wearer than the black suit covered in plastic in the closet. And isn’t that what rock n’ roll was supposed to be in the first place?

Article Author: Larry Sakin

Larry Sakin is a former music executive and non-profit medical organization administrator. He advocates for literacy issues and provides advocacy training for grassroots and non-profit groups around the country.

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