Good Times Coming Back Again

Album Review

Seemingly happy whether driving hard rock and pop songs such as "Slow Stroke" or letting his descriptive lyrics control other tunes like "Good Times," Greg MacPherson creates a consistent flow of sounds and ideas difficult to pigeonhole. While not as bombastic or arena rock-oriented as Counting Crows or Live, there is a distinctive resemblance in the arrangements and vocals in certain instances. Another asset is the amount of empty space which creates an uneasy tension in "Weak" and equally during the simple guitar riffs on "Radar," although the chorus is disappointing and too formulaic. Musically each song is rather tight and a certain ambience is cast early of giddy happiness or depressed longing. "Remote Control" stands far above the dozen tracks, a slow and gorgeous, melodic tale. "Concrete" has the singer towing a vocal line between Chris Isaak and Bruce Springsteen over a touch of piano. The latter numbers opt for an acoustic base, but come up short in their potential. Nonetheless, it's an album few can find many obvious faults with.