Nothing's Really Changed

Piano-based pop reminiscent of Billy Joel, Van Morrison, Counting Crows

     

This San Francisco-based quartet, led by singer/pianist Jeff Michaels, is clearly determined to succeed. Everything from the well-crafted, radio-friendly rock contained on the band's latest release, "Nothing's Really Changed," to the slickly-designed, user-friendly website at EvenElroy.com screams out "sign us – we're pros." And, lest the foregoing sentence be taken as some kind of snarky, indie-hipster criticism, let me say this: I thoroughly enjoyed the ten songs contained on Nothing. Nothing kicks off with "Going Nowhere," an uptempo rocker sounding like a slightly more energetic Counting Crows, and in the nine songs that follow stakes out a territory ranging from the straightforward guitar rock of "Only Time will Tell," to piano-based pop reminiscent of Van Morrison on "Another Song About Life" and "I No Longer Hate California," to "My Street," a piano ballad that would sound right at home on a Billy Joel album. Even Elroy is not breaking any new ground, but the band covers this well-trod territory with skill, enthusiasm, and an evident respect for the timeless classics that the tunes on Nothing evoke. (Co-opted Music)