Romantico is chock full of songs that will force you to listen... melodic, beautiful, thoughtful, they'll get into your soul and make a home there.  You HAVE to get this CD!
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Some of you may remember my review of Jeremy Gloff’s 2001 album “America Is Lonely Tonight” in issue 1. More of you won’t, because we only sold about 10 copies of issue 1. But that’s not important right now. The important thing Gloff’s latest record, Romantico, 17 piano-led songs featuring countryied ballads and a love for old-fashioned rock n’ roll.


You can immediately see where this is going in sings like “Perfect As You”. If America… seemed a little depressed, it’s obvious that Jeremy has gotten laid or something, because this is a lot perkier. Meanwhile “Gotta Have You” is the sort of love song that even cynical people admit to liking. And when it came time to write a few notes on “Tonight My Heart Is Golden” the only things I could think of was “This is great!”


The slow songs, however, are there to bring you right back down to earth. Gloff reflects on his childhood in “Now and When”, a song about facing up to past mistakes and failings. We return to his childhood for “Christmas Alone”, a tale of happy and not-so-happy times in the holidays, though you also feel Jeremy may have never really come to terms with the truth about Santa.


But in all seriousness, this album touches on those feelings of love, regret, loneliness, and the desire to have fun in a way that isn’t forced or phony, before it all winds up with “Keep Rolling On”, sounding like some modern-day Jerry Lee Lewis song. Except it’s not quite finished; we’re so much rewarded with an extra little ditty which doesn’t so much have homosexual overtones as Big-Gay-Al-at-the-pride-march overtones. Suffice to say, big dumb smiles are left on the faces of all.


Thanks for that, Mr. Gloff. Now if you don’t mind I’d like to join the group by the sign which reads “destined for big things.”
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Cool. “Small town heartbreak meets city-boy melody” in Gloff’s 12th album in 10 years. This one’s a grower and more lighthearted than the previous effort America Is Lonely Tonight. Romantico is “celebration of growth, rock and roll, the heart, and the future.” My fave track is “Will and Kristin” because it’s so forlorn sounding. It’s about remembering the past and a question “Remember the hurt?” I love the line “Sometimes you gotta accept that if you’re gonna be okay with yourself.”


One of the suggested singles “Perfect As You” would sound really great on the radio! Too bad the radio can’t play anything different because it panders to capitalism. Anyway, I wish I could play piano like Jeremy. It’s great!
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Like most of his 20-something releases (seriously), the pop singer/songwriter’s new one contains a few misses, but is mostly made up of excellent tunes that would sound instantly familiar, were it not for his, um, unique voice and inimitable lyrical perspective. Lots of folks can write strong pop tunes by following the rulebook. So why does Gloff rule? Because he combines those classic elements with so much of himself that they couldn’t be written by anyone else. This is the guy who lays lines like “I wasted five minutes wishing I had a pussy so I could hold you” and “Cause in a world of ABCD people/ Sometimes it takes years to find your Z” over gorgeous piano cascades, and makes them sound meaningful, instead of funny or pretentious. Sometimes his songs’ heart-on-the-sleeve vibe can become overbearing, but mostly you love ‘em even if you want to call ‘em cheesy. Highlights include “Overthinking,” “Silence is the Perfect Calm,” “Thinking of You,” “Iodine” and a whole bunch more—17 tracks in all. Rating: 4 stars
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