This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Pop music can be a lot of things.
It can be the warm rasp of a John Lennonesque singer. The gentle, high-necked strum of a guitar. The buzzy twang of a psychedelic, sitar-like synth. The shimmering of a slide guitar. The lightly funky pop of a bassline. It can even be the loose-limbed grooves of Crash Test Dummies drummer Mitch Dorge. Or, if you’re Charlie Redstar, it can be all of these things. And more. On their impressive 11-song debut CD, singer-songwriter Jason Charney possesses not only the aforementioned Lennon-like pipes, but also an impressive ability to weave simple melodies into catchy hooks that ring in your ear. Set against Dorge’s low-impact vibe and soundscapeish, gently tripped-out production — and bolstered by the equally solid chops of bassist Gilles Fournier, guitarist Joe Curtis and bassist Michael Bratland — Charney’s songs are upgraded into ear-catching, electronic-garnished gems that balance ’60s pop psychedelia, ’90s folk-hop and cutting-edge British mopery. Yes, pop music can be many things. But not many of them show as much potential as this.
