Static In Verona - Altered State Lines (Bandcamp Name Your Price)

 

We've followed Rob Merz's Static In Verona adventures from the beginning. The Chicago musician initially started off with Guitar Pop excellence, but has since developed his sound into much more of a soundscape.

The sound now is enormous and all encompassing. Still Power Pop underneath, but the arrangements are not just bigger, but cross different genres. 2022's Maybe Mayhem was reviewed here and featured in our Best 100 Albums Of The Year.

The Power Pop blossoms in the stripped down sound of Camera, but that is brilliantly counter balanced by the likes of Flood, a song that drifts more towards Modern Prog.Idle Eyes again shows of the pop sensibilities, jaunty with a big chorus, but adding surprise steel Guitar.

Big Giant instrumentally is a little 90s Rock, but the gentle vocal more Lightning Seeds and the big Drum sound works really well. Demons is heavier sounding Rock with a massive chorus. Fearful is a little 80s Rock, but another wonderfully arranged song, a little AOR.

There is great variety on display on a splendidly performed and arranged album. I have to admit a real fondness for the vast sounding songs, none more so than the title track.Static In Verona albums are always at Name Your Price, that shouldn't be seen as a lesser quality impression, more of an encouragement to sample and buy. You will not be disappointed.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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I Don't Hear A Single Albums Of The Year 2022 : 71-80

This year, the standard has been the highest since IDHAS began six and a half years ago. Narrowing things down to this 100 as been really difficult. For each album, I've posted a song from it and a link to the IDHAS Review where you can find further details and how to listen or buy the album. 

A reminder that anything reviewed on I Don't Hear A Single is highly recommended. 

No 71 : Blunt Bangs - Proper Smoker     IDHAS Review

No 72 : M Ross Perkins - E Pluribus M Ross        IDHAS Review





No73 : Bedroom Eyes - Sisyphus Rock        IDHAS Review





No 74 : Mad Rollers - Get Mad           IDHAS Review

No 75 : More Kicks - Punch Drunk       IDHAS Review

                

No 76 : Melon Soda - Melon Soda     IDHAS Review





No 77 : Superchunk - Wild Loneliness    IDHAS Review

No 78 :  The Fernweh - Torschlusspanik!     IDHAS Review





No 79 : Static In Verona - Maybe Mayhem      IDHAS Review

 


No 80 : The Flashpot Moments - Very Far     IDHAS Review

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Static In Verona - Maybe Mayhem (Name Your Price)

 

2019 was the last time that I reviewed Static In Verona, covering The Loud Nothing. You can read that review here. Since then there has been an album a year and so it seems time to revisit Chicago's Rob Merz and I'm happy to report that he has lost none of his way with a tune.

Power Poppers will love Patterns (Speak With Me ) and Mayhem. The former is wonderfully Angular New Wave, whilst the latter is more straight ahead with a big Drum sound, not a million miles away from Doves. But then there is Dying To Try, same genre, but far more urgent and very much comparable with the better part of the 80s.

However, Maybe Mayhem gets even more interesting when it heads in different directions. Don't Worry Darling is synth led and moody, almost torch song like. Only Shadows sounds more like Scouse Pop from the second Merseybeat era.

Etcetera Ra Ra is great 80s Pop with a killer chorus and Watch Me Explode ventures successfully into Modern Pop with something that might even make even an old hack look at the current charts. The closing Causing Crashes is incredibly atmospheric, near haunting and certainly gripping.

There's less Guitar here than you might expect and that is what makes the album so engaging. You realise that the songs are memorable and don't necessarily need a middle eight. The choruses are really hooky without having to beat you over the head.

There is a laidback feel at time that eases you and it doesn't need crashing riffs to leave you enjoying the album thoroughly. The Static In Verona back catalogue is also at Name Your Price and it certainly is worth discovering more.

You can listen to and buy the album here. The album is available in full at Name Your Price as a Pre-Release until November 18 when it goes on all the streaming sites.

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Static In Verona - The Loud Nothing (Name Your Price)

Static In Verona return for album number five and The Loud Nothing is a great big Pop Bag Of Tricks. Chicago's Rob Merz is known in Power Pop Circles, but he shies away from straight ahead Bass, Guitar and Drums. There is a real soundscape to his songs.

The hooks are Power Pop, but the sound is expanded by a wall of keyboards and Big Beats. A song like Daggers is very much in Mid 80's Territory, think Howard Jones and Nik Kershaw. Howeber' he's equally at home on the Kaiser Chiefs like Fade To Gray.






Even with the Synth Surround of Stuck With Silver has a Mod Pop Anthem trying to get out. (The Quiet) Nothing could be Teen Pop and Silent Sky borders on Psych Pop, emphasis on the Pop. Isolation is a wonderful, semi instrumental giant sounding closer.

Amongst all this killer melody, it's ironic that the stand out song is a simpler affair. Ruin The Riot edges on Pop Punk, but it's a winning three minutes. The whole album is Great Pop, stretching out of the simplicity that can mar such. The Loud Nothing is Top Notch.






You can listen to and buy the album here. It's available at Name Tour Price, so what have you got to lose?


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