Power pop is alive and well, but fans of the genre may have to look a bit harder to find it. John Larson and The Silver Fields are a damn fine example of a band where guitars and melodies are cherished. On their third album The Great Pause the Providence, Rhode Island based quartet serve up a full course meal with crime, loneliness, love and hate as the main ingredients. The band's songwriter John Larson delivers his words with a slightly nasal voice, which only enhances the urgency of the material - being totally at ease could have taken away the anger of I Don't Want to Hear Their Names Anymore and the passive aggressiveness of Told Ya.
With a couple of guest players helping them out - Kelly O'Donohe's horns on the fast rocker Are You Willing to Move? are something else - John Larson and The Silver Fields were able to branch out their sound, but it is always the core band that takes care of business. Some of the licks will sound familiar, but the sheer joy of them playing so well is hard to resist.
John Larson and The Silver Fields:
John Larson: vocals, guitar
Jen MacPherson: drums
David Richardson: guitar, keyboards
John Simpson: bass
The Great Pause is released via their own label Shiny Fly Records (CD, digital). Buy it from their website.
Tracks:- Perfect Crime
- Jericho
- Blue Mind
- I Don't Want to Hear Their Names Anymore
- Painting in the Rain
- Hate to Wait
- Told Ya
- Are You Willing to Move?
- Reversible Heart
- Progress