If there is such a thing as an impeccable power pop pedigree, Cliff Hillis comes as close to anyone I can think of to possessing it. After solid stints with pop royalty Starbelly and the John Faye Power Trip, Hillis launched his solo career with a pair of aces, 2001’s Be Seeing You and 2004’s Better Living Through Compression. The Long Now, Hillis’ latest release on Anna Borg’s Tallboy Records label, completes his solo trifecta. The Long Now is, in many ways, the perfect pop record: its songs are expertly constructed, melding wickedly clever lyrics with inescapable pop melodies. Hillis, unlike anybody this side of Bay area rocker Chris von Sneidern, possesses the pluperfect pop voice—he can sing sweet and intimate, as on “She Sees” or “Ought to Know,” or can reach back and belt out a rocker, as on “Northern Lights,” or “Faded Star.” Most impressively, he makes it all seem effortless. And if you’re going to ask for a little help from your friends, it surely doesn’t hurt if your Rolodex contains the numbers of Danny Wilde, Willie Wisely, and Kyf Brewer—all of whom co-wrote tracks on The Long Now—or former Hooter Eric Bazilian, who contributes a scorching guitar solo to “All for the Sake.” Kudos, as well, to jack-of-all-trades Ritchie Rubini, who, in a addition to coproducing the disc, contributes drums, percussion, piano, and synth throughout, and co-wrote “Like an Island,” to boot. But it’s Hillis who truly shines on The Long Now—it’s difficult to confine his considerable talents to a 4-1/2” diameter slab of aluminum.
--Rick Schadelbauer [January 12, 2009]
