Rocketship Park
"Off and Away" CD
Serious Business Records
Genre: Americana, alt country
Aug 26 2008 |
Josh Kaufman and his friends comprise Rocketship Park, a
lush, New York based pop band with a keen eye for infectious,
Americana-steeped songs. What they lack in chutzpah, they make up for
in elegance; unlike other releases from the same label, this clearly
isn't an album to rock out to - instead, it's a relaxing and
comforting ride perfectly designed for winter evenings at home.
Personally, I would have liked Off and Away to be a tad crisper
than it is from a production standpoint. Although on one hand these
songs exude a loose, relaxed vibe, many of the songs might have
sounded more confident and initially appealing had the instruments
been coordinated in a more rhythmically taut manner. Regardless, these
ten tunes are not without merit. Two of the most memorable tracks are
"Loser's Lament," an infectious country number drenched in drooping
pedal steel, and the Joel Plaskett-esque
title track. Also pleasant are lyrical
weep-a-thon "Drinkin' Buddy" and quaint acoustic number "Sweet
Nobody."
A hefty extended family of contributors makes Off and Away a
relatively busy release, yet these songs still
maintain a consistent vibe throughout. That isn't to say that
the record is homogeneous - only that Rocketship Park retains a
distinct sound through these ten songs. As
such, this record is a cohesive whole that is quite pleasing to
the ear. Not an
earthshaking addition to the Americana/alt-country canon, Off and
Away will be a charming find for fans of the genre.
rocketship park's myspace
79%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 10 tracks, distributed by
the
label,
released April 8 2008] |