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Michael Carpenter delivers melody-drenched pop music with a soaring, expressive voice. The music is pure pop, combining bright guitars and rich harmonies with tight arrangements and clear, punchy productions. Carpenter's 1999 debut album, Baby, was bursting with infectious tunes ranging from energetic power pop to delicate, captivating ballads - showing off his obvious knack for killer pop hooks. Hopefulness, his second album, extended into adventurous territory while maintaining Michael's pop sensibilities and classic production values. Now comes Up Close, an album that combines the best of Baby and Hopefulness - plus seven bonus tracks. This is Carpenter's first album released by an Australian record label other than a self-released limited edition cover version album. He produced and engineered every track, and has been described as a "jack of all trades and master of them all". REVIEWS OF UP CLOSE ""Up Close" is a wonderfully comprehensive collection of nineteen tracks drenched in Beach Boys type harmonies, wonderful riffs and shiny chord changes. From the outset, tracks like the opening "Kailee Ann" evoke the likes of Fountains of Wayne and Cotton Mather more than anything, with self-deprecating lyrics and hooks that wrap themselves tightly around you within seconds. There's even hints of ELO with some masterly Jeff Lynne type chord changes and harmonies. That's not to say it's all powerpop, as the range of instruments involved in the album attests to - everything from 6 and 12 string guitars to harmonica to organ to, er, car horn - but it's when he's at his most simple with songs like "Love is Like..." or "Love So Strong" (note the common theme) that he works best. Special note must be given to the cover of Tom Petty's "King's Highway" which is equally as good as the original - and if you've ever heard Petty's version, you'll know that's praise indeed. Incredibly strong melodies, and, let's face it, incredibly fucking cool. Yet another early contender for the end of year charts already... damn it." 4 / 5 Americana-UK Website "With 19 glorious, sun-shiney tunes, this latest release from Sydney producer and singer-songwriter Michael Carpenter is something of a power-pop binge. Beloved on the European and US International Pop Overthrow circuits, and by Sydney's inner circle of power-pop mavens, Carpenter has a curiously low profile elsewhere, but he is well worth seeking out. Beatlemaniacs and Britpop aficionados will love Carpenter for his pure, soaring melodies, catchy pop hooks and licks, and perhaps most appealingly, his candid and loving display of his influences, from the Beach Boys and the Kinks to Joe Jackson and the Monkees... And as you'd expect from the guy who's produced some of Australia's best indie-pop albums, the production is faultless. Perfect pop - pure delight." 4 / 5 - The Age Newspaper (Australia) "Michael Carpenter could just be THE Oz musician to become better acquainted with in 2002. That way, you get in before the rest of the world discovers him. This album, much of which was originally released on Stateside pop label Not Lame as the "Baby" long player, is seriously brilliant. No argument... This album makes him a candidate to join the likes of Dom Mariani and Dave Faulkner in the top line of Australian power-pop writers in the last 20 years (and that's no small commendation)." 4 1/2 out of 5 - The I-94 Bar Website "There are many reasons why this album is a summer must-have: It's full of jangly pop songs with the sort of rich harmonies that should have fans of everyone from The Byrds and The Beatles to Teenage Fanclub and The Posies nodding their heads in appreciation... In a perfect world, this album would be blaring from every car stereo this summer. It's not too late to make that happen." - dB Magazine (Australia) "Up Close is all chiming guitars, multi-tracked harmonies and punchy drums. One strong melody after another with overt '60s production flavours... For some it might be to close to the originals. However, from that point of view Carpenter's arrangements are a real treat. Allowing to pinpoint sounds but never songs from yesteryear. Also the fact that Carpenter plays most of the instruments and sings most of the vocal parts is nothing less than amazing." - Telstra Entertainment Website "Perhaps the power pop renaissance begins here - with Aussie one-man band and pop chameleon Michael Carpenter... In All I Want, a melancholy song of longing, Carpenter's slip into falsetto on the glorious chorus will induce goosebumps. The chiming twelve-string guitar-driven She Dreams is even better, mixing smooth harmonies and a moody bridge to produce something akin to power pop heaven. This primer, culled from his first two albums, includes a half dozen bonus tracks, highlighted by his reading of Gene Clarke's That's Alright By Me, which was "the" best track on the double Clark tribute Full Circle." - Bucketfull of Brains (UK) Check out the artist's website: http://www.mcarp.com Track List: 1. Kailee Ann 2. Love Is Like... 3. Thinking About You 4. Hopefulness 5. Love So Strong 6. Changes 7. All I Want 8. You Won't See 9. She Dreams 10. Believes Again 11. Is This Love I'm Feeling? 12. Missing You Now 13. In On Me 14. King's Highway 15. You Were The One 16. Love Is Like'¦ [Version 2] 17. That's Alright By Me 18. It's Over 19. Bonus track Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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