Steven Page - Page One
"My first real solo album" is how the former Barenaked Ladies founder Steven Page describes the aptly tltled Page One (September 28, Rounder/Zoe), his first project since splitting with the Ladies in 2009. Co-produced with John Fields and featuring co-writes with longtime collaborator Stephen Duffy, the new album was also, says Page, "insanely fun, creative, and shockingly stress-free." He describes the dozen songs as "a genre hopping tribute to the music I love, the music I grew up with" including "the grand orchestration of 'A New Shore,' to the folky 'Clifton Springs,' to the big band jazz of 'Leave Her Alone,' and the straight-up rock of 'Marry Me' and the electronic pop of 'Entourage' and 'Queen of America.'"
"The influences are all over the map, as they always have been," says Page, "and here you’ll get tastes of everything from power-pop to big-band jazz to disco, electropop and folk." Lead single "Indecision", a chewy wad of 80's styled, rambunctious new wave, a song self-described as "a melding of Jobim-style Brazilian pop and classic Steven Page power-pop." Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas pounds the skins as Canadian singer Esthero pipes amidst the galloping guitar riffs and soaring refrain.
Steven Page - "Indecision" (from the album Page One -- and available digitally now)
DC says "enjoy the stream...buy the music!"
Photos: David Bergman
Indecision mp3, Page One, Pete Thomas, Rounder, Steven Page, Zoe
Reader Comments (3)
catchy.. nice !!
Love it. Does anyone know if the album has a UK release date yet?
The new album is really good... I bought it last night (someone turned in a pre-release/used copy to our local indie record store, and they called me right away -- it pays to be a loyal customer!) I've played it through twice and while there's no clear favorite for me yet, there are also no "let's skip right past that one" songs either.
This disc is classic Steve, with a broad range of mostly happy music. One could be forgiven, perhaps, for wondering which BNL album some of the songs came from, but there's a clear creative voice here from Steve and it's good to hear him on his own.