Pont des Arts - Poor Boy

Hear The Track Here

Another review request from the Rebel Riffs blog, Pont des Arts are a new name to me, and I suspect to you too. A duo consisting of Canadian's Barry Keighley and Hugh Little who inhabit 'a world where POP is not a dirty word' and - much more to the point - music that is ' awash in strum and jangle'. Yeah pick me. Canada seems to have an armlock on musicians specialising in good pop, so I suspect I have been somewhat 'softened up' Mind you, it wouldn't matter if I was that or my usual hard-boiled bitter-as-bile self, if the so called pop didn't do what pop is supposed to do - make me feel good.

Yes, or you...(sigh)

Pretty much the first thing I picked up from Poor Boy was an appreciation for the slickness of the production and mix, crystal clear sounds and textures, very nice job indeed. In fact, in both performance and production this is a neat piece of work and - if you like pop rock - this should go down a treat the next time you have a minute. All the time I was reviewing this, I kept being reminded of something and - as usual - my brain steadfastly refused to help my memory gather the relevant information. That's the problem with my body, it works on a 'need to know' basis obviously.

It wasn't quite 3AM in the morning but it was a 'wee hours' thing when it dawned on me, this sounds a bit like Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear The Reaper. Sure, it's a totally different song, and a totally different era even, but it terms of style (that relaxed lope and the jangly guitar) and even the way the vocals are pitched. If you are a fellow musician, about the only thing you would get from this is sick, it's that good. It's rare that you get music with all it's ducks in a row, and when you do, you need to treasure it. This is one such track, and probably a name to watch for in the future.

Excellent in all respects. Highly Recommended Pop rock.