Novella
A Liquid Earth
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
Novella, who's put together a band after its tasteful debut last year, have returned with more creative melodic Rock crafted around the poignant lyrics and beautiful, pouting vocals of Jonathan Pagano. This ain't a Metal album by most any stretch of the genre; but, that aside, let me say that this 10-song collection has some excellent lyrics, awesome singing and tight playing on it. I am almost in awe at the talent of band leader Jonathan Pagano. He seems to draw from a golden songwriting well, and his voice is downright stunning. Songs like "Color of Love" show all the class and creativity of a band like Rush. This stuff is downright good. It could be on Atlantic, Epic, Geffen, CBS, anywhere. The polish on these stones is not excessive and one reason is that this talented group doesn't need it. They do just fine on their own. Last year's One Big Sky, with screamers like "Give Me Love," seemed a bit harder edged musically than this outing, but the band does show some progression in the territory they cover. Most of the songs are ballad in nature, but there's more going on than a simple piano or basic backbeat. The words "subtly progressive" seem appropriate. It's not only evident in the percussion, but the rhythms and lead guitar work as well. "Missionary" starts off the album with a colorful array of word colors arranged in an expression of introspection and call to action. "Give to me a life that's torn, and I'll be missionary/ If you care, like I do, you'll be missionary." It definitely begs the listener to dig beneath the surface and think. "Stranger" does much the same inside a slightly psychedelic Rock song. "Heaven's on my Mind" is an acoustic guitar ballad that expresses the band's spiritual beliefs and makes a big musical point--this guy can sing! "Right in the Middle" is another soft tune with lots of vocal effects that dance around over the lead vocals. "Story" is a fun Blues-flavored ditty with an infectious groove you could dance to. "Don't You Run" is a kind of predictable Rock/Pop song. The melody is very fair, but generic enough to cause a letdown with a critic that's impressed with Novella's high standard of songwriting. It's still done very well, and there's some great lead guitar work here. "Fire in the House" is a Delta-flavored tune with a little steel guitar sound and some soulful singing in the choruses as a groove is dug underneath. "Talk About Love" is a plodding rocker, forcing the tune to rely on Jonathan and co.'s vocals to pull the listener in. It works. "Bad Place" features an excellent subdued sass attitude in the guitar and vocal lines. It's got a killer groove, without being overpowering. "Color of Love" has some real clean guitar chords wrapped around some killer poetic lyrics. A nice breakdown section serves as a foundation for more delay-effected vocal meanderings. So, when all the critiquing is said and done, this album is going to have to stand alone. With no hype "A Liquid Earth" will probably be appreciated as a quality album on every level. People who still pull out Journey's Infinity album from time to time could conceivably be doing the same thing with this album 14 years from now (a compliment Novella really doesn't deserve yet, but they're getting awfully close with each release).