Joe Ongie, the musical leader of Pilgrim Soul, wears his infuences on his (record) sleeve with this debut offering. Songs like "Heavenly", "Dig Down Deep" and "Tear the Temple Down" rock with a convincing energy, heavily layered with guitars and keyboards. "Looking Glass" and "Alice Springs Eternal" change pace with introspective looks at relationships gone bad and starting anew. The songs on this CD demonstrate a love of vocal harmony ("Eden Invaded") and raucous electric guitar leads and an ear for 12-string finger picking ("Alice Springs Eternal"). The energy on this disk is undeniable; the rockers rock with brain as well as braun, the ballads give us something to think about as well as hum along with. The band is musically adept and convincing; the CD showcases a truly talented group. If you like intelligent and intelligble lyrics and hummable songs that let you rock guilt-free then buy this CD.
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Here-here for Pilgrim Soul!  Don't know what inspired me to open with that, but it works... Hey, these guys are a blast!  I've Joe Ongie's solo works, and though the band members themselves seem to appear on his other albums in small bunches, there seems to be some difference on this, their first.  Maybe I'm just fooled by the band name.  Maybe they turn it up a notch, rock-wise?  In any case, it's yet another of the collective's albums worth picking up.  Some REM, Beatles, Tom Petty... dare I say Blues Traveler on 'Dig Down Deep'?   I hate making stupid comparisons... Hey, talent oozes surely and smoothly here, and the album cover is far less disturbing than that of 'Lovefest'... Extra points on that clever 'Hazy Shade' lyric lift.  But you, friendly consumer: give it a shot, I say.  Call me if you dislike it and I'll let you yell all you'd like, a shoddy promise from me to you.  To those involved: good work once again.
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