HOP ON POP
As Drawn By Ethan, Age 2 (Spade Kitty)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Hop On Pop is a Chicago based quartet organized by songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Todd Lieter-Weintraub to flesh out the sound he'd developed on a demo he'd titled Lo-fi Is Better Than No-Fi At All. With the help of drummer David Kling, bassist Tim Ferguson (The Me Decade) and multi-instrumentalist and Spade Kitty top cat Matt Walters, Leiter-Weintraub found the elements needed to show fidelity to his musical vision, while adding fidelity to his musical performance.

The result is a 13 song whirlwind of varied pop styles that is held together by the essential joy that lies at the core of all great pop music. While Leiter-Weintraub has a tendency to compose vocal parts that challenge his vocal range, the net effect is to add a DIY quality to an otherwise professionally polished effort, an effect that suggests that you could do this too, which is half the fun.

And most of all, it's all fun. Start to finish, it's pure pop pleasure, and another gold star on the Spade Kitty report card.

Track List:

If It's Important To You * Ashes On The Water * Cary's Here * Miles From Monday * Bound To Fail * Don't Speak * False Start * And To Think... * Suckers * I Do * I Got It Back * For My Friends * Block Block

[Pick this up at spadekitty.com.]

© 2004 - Shaun Dale