David Vandervelde - The Moonstation House Band

David Vandervelde
The Moonstation House Band (Secretly Canadian)
Grade: A-

Download: David Vandervelde - "Nothin' No"

Chicago native David Vandervelde is changing lives. I am no exception. The Moonstation House Band is already one of the best albums of 2007 in my book, and I dare a band to try to take its place.

Fighting the good fight for classic rock and roll, Vandervelde has brought back the no frills attitude of 1968 backed by some seriously great songwriting. His music possesses a swagger both powerful and dynamic and maintains a level of authenticity that bars any pretension.

Furthermore, his T.Rex-inspired riff-rock is flat out awesome. Not to mention the elaborate string accompaniments, which add to the already John Lennon-esque stylings of his smooth vocals -- "Wisdom From A Tree" sounds like it belongs on Sgt. Pepper, no joke. The production plays to Vandervelde's already-present psychedelic traits and accents the dreamy qualities in his loose songwriting and performance.

Here is "Nothin' No," my favorite track off the record, which actually gets me in the mood to listen to my Big Star records. Vandervelde's vocals are completely compelling and have a David Bowie quality that I haven't heard in quite some time.

To order the album, visit Secretly Canadian
MySpace Page

(Ian Anderson)