Greg Friedman sings about being “headed down on the wings of sound” during a song titled “Santa Cruz.” And while he has no issues with propelling himself via auditory motion, he also does not stick with any one stylistic vehicle. It is impossible to label this bird while it’s in flight. The aforementioned “Santa Cruz,” for example, is a rocker where Friedman vocalizes in a whiney, Billy (Smashing Pumpkins) Corgan-like voice. In contrast, “Hallpass,” about traveling back in time to get with a school girl crush, grooves to electric piano and sounds a little bit like Ray Charles soul-rock. Alongside his rocker persona, Friedman also plays the guitar-toting folkie. Acoustic guitar driven tunes include “The Second Thing” and “Confess.” Friedman is most impressive of all, however, whenever he combines his two distinct musical voices. On “Impress You,” he begins with mid-tempo, acoustic rock, before escalating the thing into a big, electric guitar opus. “Fingers Connected” ends this disc on its most out-of-left-field note due to the song’s jazzy piano part. The trouble with Friedman’s stylistic indecisiveness is that the Souls of Passing Feet suggested by his CD title rarely leave recognizable footprints.
~ Dan MacIntosh
Release date: January 23, 2007
