In
his biography, Bettendorf native Tim Stopulos lists influences that
range from Beethoven to Maroon 5, a bit of youthful overreaching that
you might expect from a 23-year-old.
Yet there's a quote in the bio that strikes a chord, and puts Beethoven and Maroon 5 in a context that makes sense in light of his second album, The Long Drive Home. Music, Stopulos says, "definitely became an emotional outlet for me, but I also fell in love with the mathematical and logical side of the music as well."
Lest you expect some emo prog rock, the nine-song CD is full of earnest, exact pop rock with careful layers of bombast. It's a lovingly constructed recording that's satisfying and full of regular surprises, but it's also too timid and thought-out. Like the classical music he claims to draw from, Stopulos' songs are meticulous, and in a rock environment they're sometimes drained of energy as a result.
I'm going to be hard on the record, but only because Stopulos seems to have tremendous skills as a tunesmith and arranger, and his breathy voice, though not particularly distinctive, serves him well. Make no mistake: The Long Drive Home is awash in potential, much of it already realized.
On the second song, "Too Close," an instrumental break follows the chorus, with a stair-stepping bass solo and some guitar noodling that, prompted by the building intensity of the drums, shoots off in the direction of majestic hard rock before dying, leaving some jazzy piano.
On the one hand, this escalation is a thrilling musical moment, unexpected but perfectly consistent with the instrumentation, tone, and arrangement of the song. On the other hand, it lasts less than 20 seconds, as if Stopulos abandoned it, afraid to carry the idea to its logical end. There's a hesitancy here that occasionally restrains The Long Drive Home and makes its electric moments less charged than they should be.
The
lead track, "Weak & Willing," also falls prey. The insistent
drumming and guitar and piano lines suggest
ferocity, but all of the instrumentation outside of the vocals feels
too measured to convey it.
Yet uncertainty can work in Stopulos' favor. On "Pride & Prejudice," a lovely minor-key ballad, the initial, sensitive guitar solo is also brief, but it creates a breathing and thinking space for the narrator - a place to rest and recover that anticipates the song's growing urgency.
The modulation of The Long Drive Home is a bit curious in the sense that Stopulos is in many ways fearless. He tries funky, acoustic-guitar-driven hip-hop that recalls the boy bands of the past decade; you can almost hear the dance moves. And he has the courage to give the listener a choice through the song title: "Love It or Leave It." It's not my thing - and it's a bit of a sore thumb - but it works.
There isn't a track on the album that doesn't have a lot going for it. There's a casual conversation between the piano and bass on the first half of "Where I'm Going," with some interjections from the guitar, that feels genuine and unscripted. It's a low-key section that's easy to overlook, but it's mature, fully developed, and sterling.
And you can even get a sense of what "emo prog rock" might sound like on "Loose Ends," which matches the instrumental precision and complexity of latter-day King Crimson with heartfelt lyrics and a piano core. This is a track that delivers some muscle - at last, and without sacrifice.
Tim Stopulos will perform on Thursday, August 2, at the Brown Bottle in Moline. He will also play at a CD-release party at the Redstone Room in Davenport on Friday, August 3.
The CD is available from (http://www.timstopulos.com).
