Explorers Of The Polar Eclipse

WHAT A FIND! Walk with me a bit here: Imagine a mixture of the first Jellyfish, Bleu Ben Folds Five (the good stuff), ELO, Billy Joel, Elton John and you have an idea of the Secret Powers. Fabulous, gripping pop that is just FUN but still substantial and far from the ephemeral. It is like Secret Powers landed from out of nowhere - a perfect pop universe heretofore undiscovered, unknown. Mark my words: the arrival of Secret Powers to the world of power pop fans is a date to mark for they are a band with great potential to grow into a powerfully influential one. For now, we have 'Explorers Of The Polar Eclipse' that is a fully realized vision of lush pop with an interesting twist at every turn - if you are looking for cookie cutter pop this is not going to be your choice from the menu here. All 11 songs are highly texture in a way that are a balm to the 'ole pop senses. Bouncy hooky, enchanting melodies ride proudly atop the not-so-simple arrangements, letting the pop shine clearly, without hesitation. It is just song-after-song of 'Wow!' moments with huge payoff at the end of each one. 'Nearly every influence that comes to bear on the music of Secret Powers can be heard in one song, 'Jenny' the intro echoes the big gestures of Elton John, then comes a funky keyboard groove that could have been ripped from a mid-70s Stevie Wonder session. The chorus is straight from a Ben Folds record in the bridge, The Beatles show up in a call-and-response harmonies and driving piano riff. So it goes with the rest of the album, an 11 track joyfest of hum-along choruses and finger-snapping verses..is there anything original here? No exactly; but when it comes to great pop music, that is the wrong question to ask.'-Missoulian. Needless to say, pretty much Massively Recommended!