The art of smart

Making smart, intelligent pop music isn’t that simple. So much of the music we hear nowadays is formulaic, relying on familiarity or repetition in order to chart. Maroon 5 is one of the musical acts that have proven, over the years, that musical craftsmanship and strong songwriting can still win popularity. Newton Faulkner’s Rebuilt By Humans was my eye opener for the impressive Surrey singer/songwriter, and the new CD (No. 1 on UK Album Charts in July), Write It On Your Skin, is a joy to listen to.

Maroon 5 — Overexposed (A&M/Universal Music). I would have to commend the album on the strength of Payphone alone, it’s the most cynical, cheerful love song that has come in a long time; and I love it. To hear my 13-year-old singing along, and knowing the chorus by heart, makes me laugh. The other choice tracks would be The Man Who Never Lied, Love Somebody, Fortune Teller and Beautiful Goodbye. I loved how the band covered an Alicia Keys song on a previous album, but its Kiss on the CD is a miss. It’s more reminiscent of a Queen treatment, and I’ll stick to the Prince original. And yes, the song I’d be happy to never hear for the rest of my life, Moves Like Jagger, is on the CD. The track’s inclusion justifies the album’s title. This is another strong set of songs, proving that working on The Voice hasn’t taken anything away from Adam!

Newton Faulkner — Write It On Your Skin (RCA/Sony Music). While not exactly sounding like them, Faulkner does recall such acts as Crowded House, Squeeze and Mumford & Sons — in other words, mainstream pop music that’s intelligent and put together with a lot of thought. A mean guitar player, the song Against The Grain, also showcases his singing ability, a ballad where he keeps slipping into falsetto mode, with great results. The more upbeat, cheerful faves of mine would be Pulling Teeth, Brick by Brick (sounds like a Paul McCartney tune) and the title track. The special edition CD I have includes six songs rendered in acoustic versions, and a DVD of his live performances. It would be easy to think of Faulkner as a British Jason Mraz, but Faulkner’s songwriting skills come from another “school.” Well, worth the listen if you love good music!