ACCIDENTAL SUPERHERO
Full Circle (Brave World Records)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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This is a curious kind of CD review. I got the songs on a CD from the band's manager, but you can't get it anywhere, because this Colorado quartet doesn't have, and isn't in any particular hurry to get, a label deal right now. They've been there, through the whole A&R courtship whirl, and it was less than rewarding. In fact, it was downright devastating, prompting a breakup which cost them years of momentum they'd built up as the one-time Best Local Band in the eyes of the Colorado Springs Gazette and regional finalists in the Jim Beam Back Room Band Search.

After taking some time for wound licking and bouncing around a series of other bands, Accidental Superhero frontman Jonathan Kulper headed home to Colorado Springs and hooked up with co-founder and bassist Sean Mullholland. They recruited a pair of partners in the persons of guitarist Chris Willard and drummer Jeff Woods and started the wheel spinning again.

The result is some of the finest pop music I've heard lately, but don't let that "pop" tag fool ya. There's nothing twee about these guys. In fact, though their sound is pure pop if the word means anything, there's hardly a jangle to be found in the mix. This is pop music for people who like big crunchy guitar sounds and rhythm sections that have as much drive as bounce. These guys are bold, not only for their willingness to turn it up to 10, but for their forays into loops, samples and hip hop grooves, not often part of the pop arsenal - not often enough, judging by the sound of their music.

So if it's so good, why can't you buy it? 'Cause they're giving it away. The full Accidental Superhero catalog is available at MP3.com, free for the asking, and people have been asking like crazy. With downloads in the range of a quarter of a million, A.S. is one of the hottest bands online, climbing up to the #2 spot on the site's pop chart, and hitting #4 on the Top 40 chart. It's a pretty damned impressive accomplishment without the benefit of an introduction via major label or a national tour. The only way to do it is with damned impressive music, and that they've got. You can get it too, and I recommend you do so soon. Those labels are calling again, and somebody's bound to put a price tag on this sooner rather than later.

Track List:

Hurt Me Badly * Miss You Like Crazy * Lay Down Your Head * Hold On * 14 Miles * Don't Care * Sweet Castaway * Let Me Be Free * So Easy * The Way Down * Wash Away (radio remix)

[Pick this up at MP3.com.]

© 2002 - Shaun Dale