Tracks 1-6 are perfection in the sense of melding so many elements of music that have been ruined by their misuse e.g. “slickness”, “ingenious lyrics”, “production”, “singer songwriting”, etc etc. This guy’s music can be described by any of those adjectives but in this case ALL OF THEM. I admit, I was frightened by the cd package when I opened it, and the opening bars, the “slickness” gave me the willies, but then I realized it was slickness on par with Bowie or the best. Great lyrics, great guitar hooks, great beats. Nothing cliché (and if anything is cliché its totally intentional). This guy is smart and worth playing. Similar bands? I’m at a loss. Pavement? T-Rex? Unfortunately my initial sixth sense as MD was realized after track 6, so basically avoid those (they are good in their own right, but not for KZSU, imho).

1) instrumental cd intro: pretty solo piano, accomplished and then a wash of arrangement enters in a sultry subtle waltz
2) cool pop in a somehow Electric Light Orchestra way, with great lyrics delivered upbeat but really slamming big pharma exploiting depression
3) “record labels are obsolete so steal this song”: has an epic Bowie or ELO over the top delivery, GREAT with a near-prog guitar hook that would make Ragnar face blush the color of his hair
4) the “laid back” track, appropriately chorused and titled “lets just be lazy today”, the kind of song that if your lover cant appreciate dump/divorce her/him IMMEDIATELY!!!!
5) perfect chamber pop: oh my god, I HATE HATE HATE it when someone tells me to “smile” but this song makes me say, okay, wtf, I’ll do it, because you know what, it does “hurt”.
And he’s right, “sadness don’t look good on you”
6) “I’m not gonna move to LA”, didn’t Tommy Bolin say that? (“things are crazy out there”) Good upbeat pop rock, head swaying, a lovely ode to normal people who live where their means dictate, brilliant
7-11) forgettable tracks. Kinda like he’s fishing for support from the majors. Good songs but slick and not nearly as good as the first 6 tracks.