Nope, it's nothing new, innovative or surprising, but it's just a little more of what the world can always do with just a little more of: chilled-out contemporary rock with a folk influence. The self-titled album from Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers will be released tomorrow as the debut offering for Foundations Records, a new grassroots label through Universal. Think less "grassroots" and more "big label" however, if you are thinking about purchasing this CD.
Sure, Stephen Kellogg and his band toured like maniacs in order to develop their now solid fan base, and in this way got to where they are through the old-fashioned, hard-working method of rigorous road time. But their music is very much a representation of good, pure American normality.
Indeed, despite the lack of innovation on this CD, it is Kellogg's humble and heartfelt honesty that gives his songs a bit of charm.
This band sounds very much like the special guests that appear on the record: Braddigan from Dispatch, Mike Daly from Whiskeytown, Rich Price and Rob James from the Clarks. The Sixers give off the impression of a more laid-back Dispatch, with the muscle of contemporary rock in the vein of Matchbox 20. They differ though, in that they lack the attitude of many such bands, and instead adhere to that classic folk-rock tradition heard in their predecessors, such as The Band and Van Morrison.
Apologies if this is comparison overkill, but comparisons abound when listening to Stephen Kellogg. "Maria" could just as well be a Counting Crows song and Kellogg's unabashedly heartfelt lyrics seem to come directly from the pen of that guy from Train. Take "You've Changed," for example: "I wrote in on paper/and left it by the phone/coz I wanted you to find it when I was not at home," or those of "Maria": "Maria I would settle down/I need you desperately/coz you're up on a pedestal/sparks and electricity."
Yup, there's many a hopelessly-in-love kind of song, not to mention several of the it-was-great-but-now-we're-moving-on kind of song and don't forget the I'm-so-sad-and-lonely-so-now-I'm-drinking kind of song. Straightforward, honest lyrics and rampant sentimentality characterize the music on this disc. Kellogg may be 28, but given the way he wears his heart on his sleeve, he could just as well still be in college - or primary school for that matter.
It's all a bit cheesy, and sometimes the triteness gets the better of the music, like in "Such A Way," when Kellogg goes through stories of various girls he meets in California: "The girls in California/they all believe in love...She moves in such a way that people fall in love with her every day." Here, you get that feeling that you've heard this many, many times before.
There are a few welcome diversions though, such as when Kellogg and his band take a quick dip into bad-boy blues rock. On the predictably-titled "Vegas," he writes: "There was comfort in the liquor, comfort in the bed/but now there ain't no way to ease this lonely in my head."
To his credit, Kellogg is a good storyteller, and many of the songs come across as mini narratives. The Sixers provide good muscle behind his stories, but still the lyrics are more memorable than the tunes. "The guitar is more a means to an end, a way for me to get the story out. I'm a driven songwriter, not a driven musician," Kellogg said on his official Web site.
So if hapless fans of similar styles need something to tide them over until the next Counting Crows or Dispatch release, or just something with a few chord changes that's upbeat to play during a long car ride, then they should give Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers a shot - but they shouldn't expect anything life-changing.
Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers play with the Virginia Coalition with Matt Hertz at Boston's Paradise Rock Club on Thursday, February 17 at 8:00 p.m.
