Mark Goodman and Brian Charles’s musical resumes are an embarrassment…of riches, that is. If they haven’t already been given the keys to their home city of Boston, then the powers-that-be need to have a word with themselves. No, I don’t need to big them up through namedropping and aggrandisement because one spin of the album opener, “The Other Side,” and their songwriting prowess becomes obvious. Anyone who can kick off with a song that blends Stones-esque rock and soul groove with a growling echo of the golden days of alternative music via their refreshed and rich indie-rock sound has nothing to prove.
This second Major Spark album is filled with songs that blend the fresh with the familiar, evoking nostalgic echoes via forward-thinking songwriting. If “Be My Key,” one of two duets with Miranda Serra, feels ’60s soaked and sassy, groovesome and upbeat, and more than anything…fun. then “Take it Too Far” is a dizzy dance where barroom piano blues meets country lilts. The title track is a growling, gritty, gnarly salvo of low-slung rock and roll, shot through with psychedelic lead breaks, and “Back in Time” takes Ringo Starr-vibed back beats and uses them to drive a mercurial blend of musical hall-infused pop.
Like all exciting albums, Walk Among The Poppies does many things at once. It is sometimes recognisable, sometimes inventive; it occasionally tips its hat to the past, but just as often seems to be heading into the open potential of a bright future. It hops, blends, or ignores genres, even inventing a few new ones along the way. It is an album that is both unpredictable and satisfyingly comfortable. One day, all albums will be made to such a standard. And until that day, at least you now have two Major Spark albums.
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