(A Bouncing Space)

www.rossbeach.com/abouncingspace

Ross Beach, who had gotten his sea legs in the same Louisiana musical community that gave us Jeff Mangum, Scott Spillane and others, has been bouncing around the Portland music scene for quite some time now. He has recorded a few records under his own name and for the past several years has been recording as Ross and the Hellpets.  On this, his latest project (named after one of Portland's many bridges), he recorded 11 new songs, playing all of the instruments himself,  but got a different Portland musician to sing on each one of them.

Eschewing his usual indie rock for a new foray into catchy synth pop (a la The Postal Service), the songs are especially built on the personality of the vocalist. Opening with the dreamy "What Should I Do", sung my Ali Ippolito, it's a perfect tone setter with its shuffling synths and soaring vocals. Elsewhere he gets Anne Adams (aka Grey Anne) to add her gorgeous pipes to the plaintive "We Met Too Soon" and Boy Eats Drum Machine's Jon Ragel turns "A Pensive Moment" into something even synthmaster sour puss himself, Stephin Merritt  would be proud of. Kudos to Beach for creating such a seamless batch of tunes that could have come apart at the seams but instead weaves together wonderfully. With volume one being a success I wonder who Beach has in store for volume two (one suggestion: Roxy Epoxy)?

Recommended Tracks:  "We Met Too Soon", "ifeelmyselfhoping", "A Pensive Moment" TIM HINELY