Bridge is certain to please.
by
tunefans
Dennis Cronin learned musical subtlety out of necessity. Unable to master the high notes on his trumpet as a child, Cronin took his strengths, subtlety and a deliberate approach to melody and built upon them. Years later, Cronin continues to play to his strengths as the front man of Brooklyn’s Vitamin-D. Delivering mellow pop with classical and jazz influences, Vitamin-D has slowly built a quiet but devoted following and looks to broaden their influence with their sophomore album, Bridge.
Bridge opens with “Keeper”, a gentle but not timid pop song that features trumpet as a central instrumental voice. The song is fetching in subtle fashion. “Upstaged” is a mildly catchy rock tune that elicits thoughts of Tom Petty at his best. On “Astoria Bridge”, Vitamin-D gets a bit more guitar oriented; using trumpet to provide a distinctive counter-melody. Cronin and Vitamin-D stretch themselves a bit on “The Summer Crossing”, bringing a dose of esoteric beauty into the pop realm. Vitamin-D gets a bit more artistic on “Trumpet Moment 2”, a musical picture of a city neighborhood waking from sleep in the early hours of the morning around the incessant honking of a car alarm. Compositionally free-form, trumpet becomes both a percussive and lyric instrument in this one song. “Good Fit” is more of a solid, guitar-oriented pop tune, reminiscent of 54-40. “Beneficial Bridge” goes for more of a layered, ethereal-pop feel. Vitamin-D closes with William Schuman’s “George Washington Bridge”.
Vitamin-D proves that there’s always a market for something a little bit different in the world of music. Bridge follows gentle and shifting streams of pop music, infusing jazz and orchestral elements to create something bordering on unique. Bridge is a pleasant listen throughout. It’s not an overly challenging collection of songs, but Bridge is certain to please.
cross posted from WIldy's World.
Vitamin D is good for the soul.
by
Mark Ephraim
I live in Brooklyn and saw this band play at Pete's Candy store last year and was amazed by how big their sound was on such a small stage. Trumpets, vibrophones, piano, and various percussion lit up my ears, so I joined the Vitamin D mailing list and have been keeping them on my radar ever since.. The new record Bridge is amazing. From the start, the opening track Keeper immediately made me feel that I was listening to some kind of Elvis Costello, ELO, XTC, and Tears for Fears record, but then the singer Dennis Cronin takes his songs into jammy Van Morrison Astral Weeks places that make comparisons crossfade into just simply enjoying the fact that it's Vitamin D. I highly advise buying the whole record since there are so many great moments in between the cracks that really take the listener on a journey from beginning to end. Dont' let the trumpet scare you, there are some damn good and witty rock moments on the Bridge as well. First review=FIVE STARS!
