Speakertree (2013)
When someone trusts my opinion in music enough to send me a full length LP to review, it's a pretty nice feeling. When that LP is actually good, it's even better. Vesuvio Nights is Adam Widener's debut full length and it's full of the foot-tapping power pop he's been putting out on his recent 7"s.
The other band that immediately comes to mind when listening to Adam Widener is the Italian band Love Boat. I see big similarities in their vocals with their high pitched, slightly distorted up and down delivery. but while Love Boat is more know for straight ahead fast paced pop, Widener shows a bit more range and diversity.
Admittedly, some of the diversity doesn't hit as strongly for me. There's a couple oddly timed, stuttering song with stop/start guitar riffs like "Telephone Traps" and "Crystal Caskets" that are not quite as successful as some of the other songs on the album. But when Widener aims for the pop hit, that's where the real successes of this album are. Particularly strong are "Pools Of Light," "Average People In An Average World" and "Gentle Swarm."
In total Vesuvio Nights is a strong collection of songs for Adam Widener and a great debut album. Every release I've heard of his has gotten progressively better. If this trend continues, there's some great songs on the horizon.
Adam Widener - Vesuvio Nights LP:
adamwidener.bandcamp.com/
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