Undressing Underwater
- Rock
- 2005
- Buy the CD
Reviewed by Mike Farley
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Undressing Underwater starts off with a pop gem, “Hurt Myself,” so infectious it should come with some kind of warning that it will stick to your eardrums like Krazy Glue. The hook, “I could hurt myself / More than you ever could,” is simple yet paints a vivid image. “Devil’s Spaceship” shows off Anderson’s ballsy guitar slinging, and “Electric Trains” is a witty piece with melodic hooks akin to Elvis Costello or even Ray Davies. Anderson is not perfect, and misses a step with tracks like “Coming down to Earth.” But the anthemic “Damaged Goods” and endearing alt-pop of “Sentimental Chaos” are also solid pieces. Of course, there is a surf rock instrumental, “Catbox Beach,” that makes you remember that Anderson might have British influences, but is still firmly planted in Southern California.
Rusty Anderson probably won’t win any major awards with this debut, but with some of the artists who are winning awards these days, that’s not really saying much. The bottom line is that this is really good pop/rock music with top-notch musicianship. If you are a fan of the Beatles, any of the above-mentioned artists, or good songs in general, you owe it to your CD collection to give this one a spin.
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