MP3 Linus Of Hollywood - Triangle

The long awaited third album from this 60s/70s pop-influenced songsmith. For fans of Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, and Gilbert O'Sullivan

11 MP3 Songs
POP: California Pop, POP: 60's Pop



Details:
Linus is a firebrand stamp of soft pop genius. All Linus albums are filled with sunny AM-infused keyboard-based power pop, Linus vocals are reminiscent of Gilbert OSullivan(an musical influence, as well) and the music is a potpourri of light-ly breaded pop for fans of The Nines, Lovin Spoonful, The Left Banke, Jellyfish will gobble this modern day miracle: a record totally contemporary but dispatching the flair of genius past. Think Wondermints digging on Michael Brown instead of Bacharach. Or XTC eating lunch w/ Simon and Garfunkel and Stealers Wheel. Or.....well, David Bash, writer for countless zines and literary pop visionary has this: "some definite Jellyfish influences, and a childlike charm and purity on many of the tracks that Brian Wilson/Wondermints fans would definitely appreciate." Truly one of the more special artists in pop music. "Triangle" is one of the best records of the year. -- Not Lame Records

On his third album, Triangle, Linus of Hollywood fulfills his ambition to be
Gilbert O'Sullivan incarnate. Well, if that isn't his ambition, it oughta
be. Great work, my boy! -- David Bash, Pop Music Journalist, Founder/CEO: The International Pop Overthrow Festival

As flannel was pushing its way to the forefront of a nation's popular consciousness during the short-lived early '90s grunge explosion, a more vibrant movement began to materialize along stretches of the American West Coast, inspired by the rainbow of hook-filled genres -- from the Brill Building to the British Invasion, bubblegum to sunshine pop to psychedelia -- that was the Sixties musical revolution. A nascent cadre of exceptional pop/rock mimics -- Jellyfish, the Grays, the Wondermints, the Negro Problem, Jason Falkner, Eric Matthews -- attentive students of the '60s and '70s all, came along and began to draw water from the same fountain as the Beatles, the Monkees, and Hair, and, oh my, created updated composites nearly as transcendent as their source materials. Los Angeles songwriter/producer Linus of Hollywood has emerged as one of the most talented craftsman of the bunch. With his uncanny nods to old-fashioned, time-honored songwriting know-how and the consistently high-quality fruits thereof; with his sun-dappled melodies; and with the splendidly rococo arrangements and rosy, baroque latticework of his production, he has forged a uniquely identifiable, thoroughly modern found-sound by synthesizing -- and in the process breathing new life into -- the richest pockets of pop music's past.

Military brat Kevin Dotson spent his childhood moving around the Midwest (Iowa, Illinois) and the South (Nebraska, Texas) before his family settled a short drive from Cape Canaveral, Florida. By his teenage years, he was whiling away the lulls between shuttle launches by absorbing new wave and heavy metal and mastering the guitar, bass, piano, and drums. Soon enough, though, the albums of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Zombies had monopolized his ear, and songwriting his time. Frustrated by working in unsuccessful bands and getting nowhere in Florida, he traded one sun-tanned state for another -- California -- and a completely new identity to match in the summer of 1994. Re-christened after his new hometown, Linus of Hollywood gigged around Los Angeles and, inspired by highly melodic alternative pop-punk groups like Green Day and Weezer (both enjoying considerable chart success at the time), he formed guitar-pop band Size 14. Within a year it had established a significant following around the city and eventually signed a record deal with Zoo Records, which released the group's eponymous debut, produced by Mike Clink (Guns N' Roses), in 1997. A successful first single and heavy touring, unfortunately, came just as the label was coming apart, and Size 14 became a victim.

As is often the case, there was a silver lining to be found in the dismantling of the band, in that it proved to be a springboard for his career as a solo artist. Through a fortuitous connection, Linus quickly became an in-demand outside producer. Puff Daddy utilized the artist on a version of his single "It's All About the Benjamins," and, as a result, Linus became a go-to guy whenever the hip-hop mogul's Bad Boy imprint needed a rock remix, leading to eventual work with Lil' Kim, Smashing Pumpkins, and Ol' Dirty Bastard, even an appearance in the video for P. Diddy's "P.E. 2000 Rock Remix" alongside the legendary Chuck D. and late Run DMC DJ Jam Master Jay. More importantly, it gave Linus a chance to spend extra time in his bedroom studio recording his own gorgeous '60s influenced songs. His debut album, Your Favorite Record, appeared in 1999 on Pop Squad. A near-perfect record -- the title was not an idle boast -- its ethereal charms, and often its strong songwriting, were reminiscent of such rarefied Age of Aquarius gems as Sagittarius' Present Tense, Harry Nilsson's Nilsson Sings Newman, and Emitt Rhodes' classic first solo LP. The album's reissue also became the inaugural release on his indie label Franklin Castle the following year. In addition to his own superb originals, Your Favorite Record championed the work of obscure '60s songwriter Margo Guryan--whose songs had already been covered by artists as diverse as Spanky & Our Gang, Bobby Sherman, St. Etienne, Astrud Gilberto, Mama Cass, and Claudine Longet--and Franklin Castle was instrumental in helping to re-release her great, virtually unknown wisp of a 1968 LP, Take a Picture, in 2000 and, a year later, a collection of previously unheard publisher recordings, 25 Demos. The latter corresponded with the appearance of Linus of Hollywood's own sophomore album, Let Yourself Be Happy, on which the artist experimented with recording techniques and style, extending his sonic touchstones more deeply into the laissez-faire Laurel Canyon groove.

In the subsequent years Linus has concentrated on producing and developing fresh talent, and the resultant work has been nearly as impressively done. Even from beneath the layers of irony, his crackling sonic vision shines through on the Mello Cads' swank, artfully over-the-top lounge-lizard parody, Soft as a Rock, from 2002. He was also at the helm for the second outing, Return to Planet Earth, of acclaimed former Dreamworks artist Kim Fox, an album that caught the ear of numerous major-label executives and earned him a further run of successful work: I Believe, the first solo album of Charlatans UK lead singer Tim Burgess, which debuted in the British Top 40 at the end of 2003; remixes of Jennifer Lopez's "Baby I Love You" and British dance trio Mis-Teeq's hot chart single "Style"; Go!, and the third full-length (with a fourth to come) by pop eccentric Wisely, released on Franklin Castle. And with a state-of-the-art personal studio recently completed, it seems high time that the music of Linus of Hollywood is heard and appreciated outside the bedrooms and basements of America. -- Stanton Swihart, All-Music Guide