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Jeff Merchant : Window Rolled Down
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Compelling, thought-provoking songs about serious subjects written in a catchy, melodic way - where the melodies, themselves, take off some of the edge.
Genre: Pop: Chamber Pop
Release Date: 2007
Window Rolled Down Record Label: True Classical CDs
  • Buy CD - $12.00
SPECIAL: 40% discount if you buy more than one copy of it today!
Preview Song Name Time Format Price Select
Li'l Miss Riding Hood 4:02 Album Only
On Sidewalks & Backyards 3:02 Album Only
Landlord Song 2:43 Album Only
(Don't Look So) Distressed 3:23 Album Only
Sick of It 3:23 Album Only
Always to Keep 3:45 Album Only
You Can't Save Me 3:13 Album Only
Pieces and Things 4:02 Album Only
Who's Driving On 3:12 Album Only
All of the Times 3:30 Album Only
Right Outside 3:58 Album Only
Low Light 3:49 Album Only
Guy 2:52 Album Only
Wounds Will Heal 3:49 Album Only
So Completely 4:16 Album Only
Eviction (There's a Place) 8:59 Album Only
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Album Notes

Jeff Merchant is a purveyor of slickly arranged orchestral indie-pop with jazz and folk undertones. Merchant's "window rolled down" CD is one remarkably smooth listen, carrying the listener effortlessly along from auspicious start to fine finish. RIYD: Donovan, The Field Mice, Nick Drake, Belle and Sebastian.

This Los Angeles-based songwriter is best known as a member of the cult fave psycho-eclectic group, the Lullabies (which also features the notable and nationally renowned Stew, Heidi Rodewald and Michael Whitmore). Their debut CD, "Lullabies' Lullaby", released in 2004, received national radio airplay, made a few top-10 lists and has even been heard in some European cafes.

Merchant was also front man for the quirky alt-pop L.A. band, PG-13, known for its inspired and clever interpretation of Willy Wonka's "Pure Imagination" and for inventive songs about 99 cent stores and other urban realities. He also co-fronted the moody, orchestral pop sensibilities of a band called MetaTonic which utilized flute, violin and step bells as part of its sound. And he created the legendary alternative songwriter showcase known as, "Broken Mic", which held a regular residency at the world famous nightclub, Spaceland in Silverlake.

Not only does Merchant's new CD have fellow Lullabies members playing on some of the tracks, it also features members of Brian Wilson's band and Stew's band, as well as Listing Ship and other distinguished Silverlake/Los Angeles musicians. And Stew produced two of the tracks on this CD.

Multi-influenced, not trying to sound like anyone else, Jeff Merchant doesn't identify with any particular musical style or genre. He's more interested in well-written, compelling songs that have both a strong melody and a message.

Smother Magazine review (Editor's Pick): Those who are tired of waiting for something to released from the Donovan camp can rest easy. Jeff Merchant's “Window Rolled Down” will satisfy those cravings nicely. His songs are amazingly complex with intrinsic orchestrations and beautiful vocal arrangements. The harmonies are catchy as are the song structures, each of which is as unique as the last. This is multi-instrumental indie-pop that would fit Brian Wilson. Excellent eclectic folk pop.

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REVIEWS

Jeff Merchant: Window Rolled Down CD Review in Entertainment News (Florida)
author: Lee Zimmerman of Entertainment News
Jeff Merchant's new album provides a dizzying mix of melody, textures and conceptual design; such a broad mix, in fact, that even a generous sixteen songs can't seem to contain it all. While he's enlisted some impressive collaborators - members of Brian Wilson's amazingly adept back-up band, the irrepressible Stew and up-and-comers Listing Ship lend their talents and expertise - it's Merchant's ability to turn a phrase and take his tunes into unexpected realms that makes Window Rolled Down both a challenge and a triumph. The songs meander along with an easy lilt, buoyed by lush, billowy arrangements thick with atmosphere and effervescence. That said, the dense ambiance sometimes tends to obscure the melodies and cloud subject matter that might otherwise tip the proceedings towards weightier terrain. Nevertheless, after soaking up the pretty, wistful sigh of "All Of The Times" or reveling in the stirring strains of "Wounds Will Heal," it quickly becomes apparent that Merchant's a master when it comes to crafting lofty tunes with instant appeal.
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BOSTON PHOENIX reviews "Landlord Song"
author: Chris Nelson - BOSTON PHOENIX
Taking a solo turn from his work with LA-based group the Lullabies, Jeff Merchant makes shitty landlords and hipster roommates sound somehow entrancing in this lush, quirky three-minute ode to LAs Echo Park.
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EDITOR'S PICK on smother.net
author: smother.net
Those who are tired of waiting for something to released from the Donovan camp can rest easy. Jeff Merchant's "Window Rolled Down" will satisfy those cravings nicely. His songs are amazingly complex with intrinsic orchestrations and beautiful vocal arrangements. The harmonies are catchy as are the song structures, each of which is as unique as the last. You may have heard him in his cult-fave psychedelic rock outfit the Lullabies but if not this is a perfect introduction to his brand of multi-instrumental indie pop that would fit Brian Wilson-indeed some of the members of Wilson's band contribute on the album. Excellent eclectic folk pop.
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PopWatch - Download These: Jeff Merchant
author: Marc Vera - ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (ew.com)
If Nick Cave had been from California, this is what he'd sound like. Even though his voice is less menacing than Cave's, Merchant's complex haunting tales, with added strings, are just as powerful. "Li'l Miss Riding Hood" is only the beginning.
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