If previous releases such as When You Come Around and Comes a Moment have shown Cavier to be the master of accessible, expertly wrought, commercially viable pop-rock, this re-mix of Blue Room from the recent album of the same name introduces something else into the musical arsenal. Bite! You could never accuse him of writing songs which are in anyway fey or twee, but renowned engineer Nico Essig’s contribution is to throw in a whole layer of muscle, this is pop-rock fresh out of a few months intensive gym training. It worked for The Goo Goo Dolls, who Essig also worked with, it works perfectly for Johnathan Cavier.
Inspired by The Picasso painting of the same name, Cavier muses on the woman depicted within and does so via a wonderfully big sound. It is a sound which takes his well honed skills at writing textured, guitar pop and bolts on shimmering undercurrents, fierce electric riffs and a relentless beat. It is great to hear Jonathan Cavier let loose like this, to play a more rock card and revel in its more muscular tones. We knew he was capable of making brilliant pop music, now we know that he can rock out with the best of them as well. Good work sir!
