This week we have a new review from a new member of our staff, Bert Gangl.
Bert has written for such places as the late TLeM, for those who have been
visiting websites about Christian music for years. And this week Bert
introduces us to The Billions, a new band with a very artistic debut. Plus,
this week check out some new music, such as FM Static, Todd Agnew, and Jill
Paquette.

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NEVER FELT THIS WAY BEFORE - THE BILLIONS (2002)
by Bert Gangl

If relative youth and a spot in one of the industry's most well-respected
independent record labels seem like a sure-fire springboard for those
aspiring to alt-rock or emo pop stardom, the members of the Kansan foursome
The Billions seem to have taken their influence, perhaps more than anything
else, from simple upbringing and geography. Knee-deep in music nearly from
birth, brothers Dan and Sam Billen and childhood friend Jared Bowes had
already formed a deep-seated love of music by the time they entered junior
high. This early musical exposure, together with the band's close working
relationship with '70s rock veteran and fellow Topekan Kerry Livgren (who
produced two of the group's first three independent albums) appears to have
helped steer the lads in the direction of the music that their parents
loved.

Not surprisingly, Never Felt This Way Before, the group's first release for
the Northern Records label, features no short supply of pop and rock in
their classic forms. "I Won't Turn Away" opens the album with an enlivening
dose of jangling, Byrds-inflected indie pop, while the similarly buoyant
"Hey Girl" calls to mind the melancholy-tinged melodicism of Pet Sounds-era
Beach Boys. "The Reason We Sing" is an impossibly cheerful, yet suitably
quirky, lo-fi take on late seventies new wave synth-pop, whereas the
rollicking title track goes the route of gritty, Stones-derived swagger.
And the best-of-album "Aysa" weds intricate, arpeggio-laden acoustic guitar
work -- a la Jim Croce -- to sweeping orchestral flourishes to create a
piece of sublime and stirring beauty.

Lyrically, the group complements its retro-inclined musical tastes with a
fittingly direct and unassuming writing style. Indeed, the lion's share of
the Never Felt release comes delivered refreshingly minus the usual
obtuseness and irony that are fast becoming stock-in-trade for the seemingly
countless number of artists clamoring to establish indie and alternative
credibility. But, if songs like "Into the Light" and "Everybody's Waiting"
(If we keep ourselves occupied/ It won't be long/ Until the trumpets in the
sky/ Play our song) sound as if they could pass for lost artifacts from the
late early '70s Jesus Music movement, they, along with the rest of the
tracks on the record, simultaneously exude a certain timelessness that
positions them very much in the present day.

While portions of the group's lyrics might come across as trite or cloying
in the hands of other writers, the overarching sincerity with which The
Billions' collective delivers its themes transforms the band's sunny,
forthright lyrical bent into a distinguishing factor of sorts. And if some
of the foursome's musical influences are quoted a bit literally at times,
the group nevertheless instils each of the entries on the new record,
regardless of whose catalog they happen to be borrowing from at the time,
with a heartfelt innocence and exuberance that that seem bound to win over
even the most cynical of listeners. Even as it draws from so many sources
that are so familiar to so many, the Never Felt This Way Before release
manages to be one of the most unique and refreshing offerings to come down
the pop/rock pike in a long time. An absolutely stellar effort.

Find out more about The Billions:
http://www.thebillionsband.com/

Check out more articles/reviews by Bert Gangl:
http://www.toolbooth.org/
(Yes, we even link to the other guys when it's notable.)


OTHER NEW STUFF ON cMUSICWEB.COM

Review: Eargasmic Arrangements - Soup the Chemist
http://cMusicWeb.com/hiphop/soupthechemist/eargasmicarrangements.shtml

Review: destination:beauitful - mae
http://cMusicWeb.com/pop/mae/destinationbeautiful.shtml

Views: Addicted to Fluff, Determined to Change
http://cMusicWeb.com/views/archiveben/addictedtofluff.shtml

Review: Sunrise/Sunset - Underground Rise
http://cMusicWeb.com/hiphop/undergroundrise/sunrisesunset.shtml

Review: Out of Knowhere - Propaganda
http://cMusicWeb.com/hiphop/propaganda/outofknowhere.shtml


AVAILABLE TUESDAY, JULY 22 (at cMusicWeb.com or your local music store)

GRACE LIKE RAIN - TODD AGNEW
A new signee to the Ardent label, Agnew will remind most of Jeremy Camp. His
praise-influenced rock is a bit louder at times, and his title track is his
version of "Amazing Grace." But really, it rocks.

JILL PAQUETTE (self-titled)
The best new signing on Reunion in years, Paquette is young but full of
talent and artistry. Expect a sound similar to Paige but without the
over-production. This debut gets our PICK OF THE WEEK.

THE POWER OF PRAISE - PETRA
Petra has recorded a lot of praise music over the years, and Curb Records
brings them back with a collection of some of their best praise material.

TRANSPARENT - HANGNAIL
Drawing on influences such as labelmates MxPx, Hangnail was one of the best
rock bands on the Nail. Sadly, the band is no more, but fans will be pleased
to know that they've released a whole disc full of new tunes you'll never
hear them play live, but will still enjoy.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? - FM STATIC
So you're into the silly punk music ala Relient K? "Then what are you
waiting for?" FM Static asks. Pick up their disc of similarly styled tunes
with a little more "love song" feel. And even more interesting, this is a
side-project of a couple members of rap-rock group Thousand Foot Krutch.


Thanks for reading this week's cMusicMail, and we'll be back next week with
even more great content. If you have any comments or questions, please reply
to this e-mail or send them to webmaster@.... We'd love to hear
from you!

Dan Ficker
http://cMusicWeb.com/
a different approach to music
AOL IM - dMusicWeb