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The Push Stars
The Push Stars - After The Party
Capitol, 1999 – Pop
 For those of you who have not heard them yet, The Push Stars are a
Boston-based trio whose music has appeared on MTV’s “Real World,” ABC’s
“All My Children” and in last summer’s comic crotch-biter “There’s
Something About Mary.” After years of relentless touring and acclaim,
the band has released their major label debut and is ready to go big!
Those who have touched The Stars will hear many familiar sounds on this
album, including a reworking of “Any Little Town,” which first appeared on
the band’s self-produced EP Tonight. The consistent beauty of Chris
Trapper’s songwriting is also made evident in the paternal devotion
“Cinderella” (reminiscent of “The Other World” from the band’s first
record Meet Me At The Fair) and also within the album, with “Too Much
Pride” and “Everything Shines” skipping along similar musical lines.
“Moving Target” and “Cash” both open mellow, but soon explode into
percussive powerhouses in which Trapper’s cigaretted vocals act as the
smoke from bassist Dan McLoughlin and drummer Ryan MacMillan’s rhythmic
guns. Both a collection of older sounds and a look to the future, Party
offers an a-list of musical guests, from the pop fun of the banjoed
“Minnesota” to the adolescent romance of “Back To The Party” and the
aching loss of “Meet Me On Main Street.” This Party is a complete pop
soiree in one CD.
- Matthew S. Robinson
© 1999 M. S. Robinson, ARR
The Push Stars - Meet Me at the Fair
14 Track CD
Recorded at Dreamland Studios, Woodstock, NY
(one track recorded live at "The Fine Line," Minneapolis, MN
Mixed by Eric Rachel at Mix-O-Lydian Studios, Lafayette, NJ and Dan
McLoughlin at Dreamland Studios
Produced by Eric Rachel and The Push Stars
 Welcoming listeners with a mellow piano "Prelude," the Push Stars' debut
album quickly kicks into the strummy pulse of "Me." Despite a few vocal
squeals, the paced opener (which includes the clever innuendo "grabbed the
lotion at my side and I took it for a ride it won't forget") is promising,
and its promise is not betrayed.
Musically, the album features a stylistic mélange ranging from the
plodding of "The Other World" to the rockabilly jangle of "One Summer Day"
and "Well Anyway." Thematically, the album is similarly diverse. Whereas
tracks like the simply brilliant and beautiful ballad "Shy" and the
intimate live recording of the caressing devotional "Wild Irish Rose" deal
with yearning and unrequited love, a carnival motif is carried (even in
the absence of the title track) both by the nostalgic album artwork and by
tunes such as the playful "Tilt-A-Whirl Girl," the oddly chorused "Circus
Town" and the 'hidden' Vaudevillian coda (not to mention the fact that the
band took their name on the advice of a gypsy fortune teller). It might be
concluded from such songs as "Me" and "Circus Town" that lack of
verse-chorus is its own theme in Push Stars music. Though both parts are
most often well-written and well-orchestrated, and together make for
insightful contrast, the hook has a tendency to fall off the line and
sink. Despite the few which get away, however, "Fair" is a solid debut
which is full of honest, emotive and bouncily fun pieces worthy of the
fanfare and fanatical following the quickly-rising Stars have developed in
just a few years.
- Matthew S. Robinson
© 1997 M. S. Robinson, ARR
The Push Stars -
Tonight
7 Track EP
Recorded at Fort Apache Studios, Cambridge, MA and Chris Trapper and Ryan
MacMillan’s attic, Brighton, MA
Mixed and Engineered by Dan McLoughlin
Produced by The Push Stars
 Cranking into the E-Street rocker "Cross Town Cafe," The Push Stars (with
special guest Star Emily Weber on sax) kick-off their anxiously awaited
second album. It was so anxiously awaited, in fact, that the band opted
for a seven song EP as opposed to a full-length follow-up to their Imago
debut "Meet Me At the Fair" (see other review). Though only half as long
as the Star's debut, the album delivers the same mix of intelligent
writing, full, well-balanced orchestration and fun. From the calm and
loving ballad "Ocean View" to the coherent play of "Meet Me at the Fair"
and the percussive grooves of "Counting the Minutes," this EP packs it all
in. It's no wonder the band is such a favorite or why their fans were so
hungry for a second release. Even at the CD release party (see last
issue), many fans already knew the new songs enough to mouth along with
front man and writer Chris Trapper. Combining Trapper's varied six-string
styles and mostly tuneful vocals with the solid and steady rhythm section
of drummer Ryan MacMillan and bassist/keyboardist/engineer Dan McLoughlin,
the Stars appear to be on the rise.
- Matthew S. Robinson
© 1997 M. S. Robinson, ARR
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