Category:
Singer/Songwriter

Try if you like:
Alex Chilton, Elvis Costello, Ray Davies

Damn, there is nothing wrong with solid pop when done with smarts and attention to the hook, and Carey Ott has both with plenty to spare on Lucid Dream.  Yes, there are sensitive, semi-singer/songwriter folk moments, but in all this is a fun set that would fit in nicely on a radio station that gave a shit about craft.

Pick any of the twelve tracks here, and tell me you don’t hear a hit single? “Wouldn’t Do That To You.” “Daylight.” Hard To Change.” “Kickingstones.”  Any one of these or the rest would be a tune you would root for Kasey Kasem to say had bumped Brittany’s or 50’s latest piece of shit out of the Top Ten.

This is not pure pop by the numbers, though. Ott is not afraid to play with the genre, adding Eitzel-esque bite to the lyrics or tinkering with time signatures like Elvis or Robyn Hitchcock. There is risk here, and joy, and that is what sends Carey Ott’s music into must-have territory. Apparently his music has been used in a couple Fox shows, so who knows, maybe he is going to break big soon. If he does, I hope he stays true to his massive chops and future. This is music that needs to be heard.