steering clear of the mainstream
since 2001

june 2010

review
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info opinion

Keith John Adams

"Sunshine Loft" CD

DCBaltimore2012

Genres: indie rock, indie pop, folk pop

May 3 - 9 2004

Sunshine Loft is the first solo album from Britain's Keith John Adams, whose unique brand of folky, homemade pop embodies everything that's great about independent music.  Adams' melodic sensibility is truly a thing to behold - these thirteen short tunes are just brimming in lasting listenability.  Comparisons to HHBTM and bumbleBEAR artists are obvious, and if you dig those labels you'll probably be quite enamored with this.

The third song on this disc is "Looking At Pictures," and it's one of the best examples of Sunshine Loft's brilliance.  Adams's style is fairly wordy, though he still packs his tunes with countless hooks and a tremendously cool troubadour-esque atmosphere.  The majority of the songs are also short - around two minutes each.  "Drift," for example, doesn't milk its hooks - its brevity means it stays enjoyable for more than one listen.  "Throwaway," meanwhile, is the best tune on here - its powerful, pretty melody (which garnered it a spot on a Flitwick compilation) is endlessly engaging.

Sunshine Loft is a tremendously fun record.  Keith John Adams distinguishes himself from the rest because he knows how to keep things short and catchy.  There's no long, repeated choruses - just simple, compact tunes.  Why buy a mansion when a little house is all you need?  Understand?  Precisely.

87%

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 15 tracks, distributed by the artist, released 2003]