Curtis Peoples

CURTIS PEOPLES
"CURTIS PEOPLES"
(Control Group, 2008)


"Back Where I Started"


I guess this blog is good for something after all ... like when a musician's publicity firm puts me on their mailing list and brings great stuff to my attention that I probably would have otherwise missed completely. Take Curtis Peoples, for example. The press release describes his sound as "coffeeshop arena rock", and if any phrase is going to pique my curiosity, that would be it. Add to that the fact that one of the songs was co-written by Tyler Hilton, and another by Ryan Tedder, and that's all the convincing I needed to give this disc a try.

Curtis Peoples' songs are as rich and lively as the likes of Tonic or Better Than Ezra, but he still manages to maintain the cozy feel of singer-songwriters like Teddy Thompson and Ben Lee. His voice reminds me of a cross between Alex Band (of The Calling) and Michael Tolcher -- yet another thing to love about him, as far as I'm concerned. Curtis Peoples has toured with artists such as Tyler Hilton, Josh Kelley, Hanson, and Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers, all of which make perfect sense; his music can be thought of as power-pop with a southern-rock twist.

I hesitate to call this album "perfect" (if there's one complaint, it's that a few of his songs in the middle sound samey, but then I still have yet to completely absorb the album), but it is only his first, and debut albums don't come much more impressive than this. And it really makes me wonder how much better he'll get as time goes on.