OUTSTANDING, classic power pop. All the elements are here to easily digest and enjoy. Unpretentious without fault, Todd Herfinal`s "Collective" is modern rock with a sharp, clear understanding of what great pop should be comprised of. Fans of The Honeydogs and Tom Petty will find some traces of their inspiration here but there`s overwhelmingly catchy vibe here, as songs splendorously drift from gentle roots-pop jangle and open chorded sounds to sweeping, accessible and good-natured melodies. What`s not embrace here? "5++. A nice direct hard fix of cool ultra-catchy guitar pop. Probably best known as a member of the Los Angeles, California-based band The Meadows, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Todd Herfindal presents his first solo album. And it`s a total hit here in babysueland. Herfindal writes some amazingly lovable tunes and he`s got an incredibly magnetic voice. Add in some wonderful arrangements and appropriately slick production...and you have a batch of tunes that just begs to be turned up full blast. Folks seeking ultra-artsy weirdo pop should be advised that this guy is not creating oddball underground slop. Virtually every tune on this album sounds like a commercial hit. Now in most cases in our little corner of the internet, that would be the ultimate swipe. But in this case, no swipe is intended. These tracks recall great hit tunes from the 1970s and 1980s.A truly nifty breath of fresh air."-BabySue. "Fans of shimmering jangle pop everywhere need to take note. I do not believe I`ve ever heard a bad song penned by Herfindal.
Despite being a literal collection of songs from over the years that for some reason or other did not find their way onto a Meadows CD, "Collective" plays seamlessly like a premeditated full-length studio project. The CD is entirely consistent and works well as a cohesive release. As a whole, the material is not too different than The Meadows, so we`re talking sounds like The Jayhawks, Tom Petty, and the more rocking side of Counting Crows. Herfindal has one of the best voices for this genre of music, with great instincts on when to throw in a growl and when to let things simmer." - BillsMusicForumBlog. "Collective is a bit of logical progression from the first two Meadows discs, as Breakdown was a bit more roots rock-oriented than the debut, and here Herfindal goes full bore into the Gin Blossoms-meet-Tom Petty vibe. This becomes apparent right off the bat with the ebullient "Air I`m Breathing" which shows off his melodic gifts in a heartland rocker that even features some tasteful horn backing.Collective closes in grand fashion with "If I Hesitate", an anthemic number that starts off slow and builds to a big payoff."- AbsolutePowerPopBlog. Part of its power lays in the collective nature of the musicians appearing here - Todd co-wrote more than two albums worth of songs with some of LA`s & Nashville`s finest writers like Duane Jarvis (Lucinda Williams, Frank Black), Rich McCulley, Michael Dukes (Mechanical Birds), Kevin Houlihan (The Meadows). Inescapable talent peppers the album in the form of guest players such as Taras Prodaniuk (Lucinda, Dwight Yokam) and Kyle Mullarky (The Shore) on bass, Rich McCulley on all sorts of guitars, Dennis Hamm on keyboards, Tommy Rickard (Courtney Love) on drums-percussion, and Bob Malone with some beautiful horn and string arrangements. EXTREMELY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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