Sunday, June 23, 2013

REVIEW: Jonathan Bree - The Primrose Path


This blog has championed New Zealand's The Eversons on several occasions.  They are a very good, and very funny guitar pop band whose music is released on Auckland's Lil' Chief Records.  Now we bring you The Primrose Path, which is the product of one of the men behind Lil' Chief Records, Jonathan Bree.  While Bree is no stranger to the performance end of the recording studio, with four albums and four EPs with The Brunettes in his resume, this album is his first solo effort.  The style is orchestral pop, but it doesn't seem to be one of those "happy happy, birds singing in the trees and we're going to live happily ever after" kind of orchestral pop albums.  Bree chooses to look at life as an adult, and a realist, and doesn't shy away for the insecurities, disappointments and struggles.  But at the hands of a pop craftsman, it emerges as a compelling listen and, I would expect, a personal triumph for Bree.  Oh, and I should mention that if you are the type satisfied with digital downloads, it is available for "name your price".  To provide a touchstone, I'll suggest that the best songs on this album will remind you of tracks for 69 Love Songs, by The Magnetic Fields, and that, my friends, is a desert island disc.








The Primrose Path is out now.  Explore for yourself at the Bandcamp link.  Lay a few coins on Mr. Bree and be the first in you circle to own a bit of excellence from this southern hemisphere pro.

Bandcamp
Lil' Chief Records

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