The Pinder Brothers
Jupiter Falls

(One Step)

First Appeared in The Music Box, July 2006, Volume 13, #7

Written by John Metzger

The Pinder Brothers’ debut Jupiter Falls provides proof of the age-old adage about the apple not tumbling terribly far from the tree. Throughout the set, the siblings Michael Lee and Matt Pinder traffic in the same sort of romantic innocence that has become The Moody Blues’ bread and butter. The connection, of course, is Mike Pinder, who retired from The Moody Blues several decades ago. Here, he jumps back into the rock and pop world by doing what any good father would do: He not only financially backs his sons’ project, but he also lends his trademark touches of mellotron, percussion, chamberlin, tambourine, and synthesizer to most of the collection’s 10 tracks.

In that sense, Jupiter Falls fares no better or worse than most offspring-oriented endeavors, though its weakest link undeniably is its lyrics. In forsaking the cosmic mysticism that lent a poetic quality to their dad’s work, the specificity of The Pinder Brothers’ ruminations about such things as sexual abstinence and the perils of television feel overly sweet and simplistic. The arrangements, too, occasionally falter by adhering to a contemporary alt-pop framework, but much like the songs penned by Semisonic’s Dan Wilson, the duo’s melodies are endearingly indelible. Better still, when laced with the brief but feisty guitar solos of accompanist Joe Bithorn, the material on Jupiter Falls becomes more vivacious than the majority of The Moody Blues’ latter day efforts. ½

Jupiter Falls is available from Amazon.com.
To order, Click Here!

This disc is not available in Canada or the U.K.!

Ratings

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2006 The Music Box