The Pinder Brothers
Ordinary Man
Independent

To Buy
My guitar sings softly/I believe/It's inside me," sings Matt Pinder
on The Pinder Brothers' sophomore effort Ordinary Man. He's not
kidding. The sons of Moody Blues founder Mike Pinder, Matt and his brother
Michael Lee have got music in their blood. But DNA aside, Ordinary
Man, is one of the most fully realized pop albums in recent memory.
Armed with the immediacy of Material Issue "Dear Diane") and
the prefect brotherly melodicism of Evan and Jaron ("Hold Me Tonight")
The Pinder Brothers know exactly how to land a pop uppercut. Keeping
this in boxing terms, Ordinary Man is a pretty clean knockout.
"Holiday" brings to mind Dulicnea-era Toad The Wet
Sprocket, "Inside Me" suggests Crowded House and the thoughtful
"Waves Crash" is a ruminative wonder. Elsewhere, the dead-on
harmonies of "Oh Woman" are crushingly beautiful; the punchy
pop of "Whisper" is hard to resist and the album closer "Empty
Street" is truly elegant. Like The Feeling, whose Twelve Stops
And Home single-handedly brought back the notion of a song boasting
a catchy chorus, The Pinder Brothers don't shy away from the big hooks.
So it's no surprise that they reel you in every time.
--Alex Green