(Stomper Music)

www.myspace.com/themikegent

Familiar with Mike Gent from his work in The Figgs and The Gentlemen, I expected some raucous guitar wanking, so I secured the fragile artifacts and all the glassware before hitting "play". Psyche! Gent's mostly stripped-down album sounds like collaboration between Elvis Costello, Squeeze and Crowded House on a truly acoustic episode of Unplugged, and it's wonderful.

Besides a pleasing voice, Mike Gent has a knack for the turn of a phrase as well as an infectious melody. I've always been a fan of his writing for both bands, but I'll bet spending considerable time hanging with Graham Parker the past few years didn't hurt his chops either. Andy Bopp (Myracle Brah) and Craig Northey (The Odds) aren't household names, but any pop fan familiar with their music will understand the sweet spot that Gent has hit with this album. ("Alice the Goon" is almost a perfect blend of Spirit's "Nature's Way" and "Yes Means It's Hard To Say No" by The Odds.) Another example is the picture-perfect Difford/Tilbrook harmonies on "Feeling Sound Yet", even more impressive when you consider that Gent (who plays and sings just about everything here) double-tracked his own vocals.

Kudos to producer Ducky Carlisle, who is not only twiddling knobs on some of the finer pop albums of the decade but also appearing on them as well. Ducky is a good foil for Gent and gives him a very appealing sonic framework to hang his songs upon, but they should have left well enough alone on the last track, "Stations Fading". The extended variations just detract from what would have been a great close (Ducky did the same thing to worse effect on Aquavia by The Major Labels, but that was his band.) It's hard to pick the best tunes, they're all good, but my favorite is one he didn't write, "Buried Me Alive" (kudos to ex-Frog Jimmy Flemion). Acoustic based like most of the others, it roars ahead like a bullet train with staccato guitar and a racing heartbeat of a bass line.  

Great stuff...I wonder if Mike saved anything for the upcoming Figgs album?

Standout Tracks: "Buried Me Alive," "False Alarms," "Paper Knives" BILL HOLMES