Chris Brown: Boring name, divine power pop

San Francisco-based independent filmmaker/musician Chris Brown has the misfortune of having a kind of boring name that is really common and makes you think iTunes (or eMusic) carries his music, when, in fact, they don't as far as I can tell - it's just other Chris Browns clogging up the airwaves.

The Chris Brown that I'm talkin' about has released an absolutely fabulous solo debut album called "Now That You're Fed," and I say this with great enthusiasm: He is THE best new artist I have found so far in 2006. Reminiscent of great pop-song-crafters such as The Beatles, Paul Simon, The Beach Boys, or even a happier Elliott Smith, this music shimmered out of my stereo from first listen.

"Perfect power pop is oft-attempted but rarely attained. By which I mean it rises above the standard formula of chiming chords, hook-filled choruses, and clean guitar strumming. When it`s perfect, the unpredictable arrangements, the lyrics that make you wanna rewind to hear them again, the perfectly-timed bridges, and the ridiculously pretty chord progressions all conspire to make the considerable effort involved seem effortless, timeless, classic, and just plain great. Chris Brown's glorious, sunny debut album is all that and more, a gorgeous record produced by Chris Manning of fellow power pop geniuses Jellyfish. Think the Raspberries, BigStar, McCartney. To hear this music is to love it."
- Windy Chien (former owner, Aquarius Records)

I agree wholeheartedly. Here are some samples of his sublime sound, I highly recommend that you buy the whole CD (available at CD Baby) as soon as possible:

"All My Rivals" - Chris Brown

I think that we will be hearing more about Mr. Brown. Several sites are already pegging him as a front-runner for their "Best of 2006." According to Chris himself, "There is at present no plan to tour. However, I have been invited to play the International Pop Overthrow shows in both LA and SFO this summer. Should be fun. Hope I don't suck." You won't Chris, you won't.