Peter Cincotti - Metropolis (Album Review)
Possessing a great voice, superb deliveryand consummatesong-writing skills are Peter Cincotti‘s strength
review by Iain P W Robertson
Capturing a zeitgeist is a vital means for a performer to progress in today’s music business. You can write the greatest songs, compose the best music and perform until your lungs and legs break but, without captivating your market, even a high quality act can fail to impress.
His voice is frequently rocky but it can be equally tender and sweetly appealing. His lyrics are typically pop and there is an inevitable posturing and posing, complete with arms outstretched, fingers pointing and eyebrows arched with pain or pleasure. Yet, this is what his market wants and he knows how to play it to a logical and fruitful conclusion.
There are times, when Cincotti sounds like a softer Ben Folds, which is not intended as a negative criticism. There is certainly an abundant maturity to his vocalisations and wordsmithery to enable him to occupy a space of his own creation. However, despite the eminent quality of his musical stylings, I cannot help but feel that there is something residing deeper within his soul that warrants reappraisal.
Bear in mind that Cincotti’s first couple of albums leant heavily on jazz-crooning, something that Jamie Cullum believed in enough to stick with resolutely and he has made a thorough success of it. Cincotti was being compared to Harry Connick Jr. and a later Michael Bublè, with some justification. He does possess immense talent, yet, ‘selling out’ to gain popular accord may remain an issue that he needs to return to and address properly.
Being a solo version of the Pet Shop Boys may be an unfortunate analogy but the title track, ‘Metropolis’ does have a ringing chorus that reminds you of the ever-so-poppy English duo. It is sound enough musically but it washes over the listener and lacks any presence and depth.
Rest assured, this is not a concept album but it does deliver a congruous, fluent and complete message, thanks to Cincotti’s sterling piano-playing and constant changes of tempo. Well-produced, well-sung, slick and groovy, in a pleasantly pop-like manner, it is painless and bathes the listener in a satisfyingly summery manner. I just have a sneaking suspicion that some of his earlier works are cooler and more worthy of serious listening.
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