Trust me...over the past 34 years I’ve listened to a lot of recorded pop music new & old and every few years I discover an artist’s music that amazes me.  Years ago I would occasionally hear incredibly fantastic music while dreaming only to awake & not be able to remember details of what I had heard.  Found within ‘At Apogee’ by the band Mr. Smolin(Barry Smolin) are magnificent songs I might have imagined in a dream except in this case it’s real.  The songs seem to emerge out of nowhere, flow together like a song cycle, and resonate more and more with each repeated listen.  The vocals sound unaffected, the melodies haunt, and the lyrics are laced with existentialism, juxtaposition, allusion, and metaphor.  The arrangements are spellbinding.  I agree with virtually all of the reviews of ‘At Apogee’ found at:  http://mrsmolin.com/reviews.phpg so I won’t repeat any of those comments here.  The only exception is that, unlike a couple reviewer’s comments, I think Barry’s ‘everyman’ style lead vocals on ‘At Apogee’ are part of what makes this recording so special & contrast nicely with the more sophisticated subject matter and arrangements.  Whether the musicians on this recording realize it or not, Mr. Smolin has created a musical masterpiece that should provoke & challenge all those who aspire to express themselves via pop music.   Whether the world realizes it or not, great music(like beauty) is where you find it.   It’s rumored that Mr. Smolin is in the process of recording a new record in which case that’s one highly anticipated release.
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I have no idea who this Mr. Smolin is, but a friend of mine passed the CD on to me because he knew i was a fan of The Negro Problem/Stew (the eccentric indie pop gentleman who produced the record.)  He figured that i'd dig it and boy was he right.  Mr. Smolin writes expansive songs filled to the gills with heady thought provoking lyrics. Add to the mix Stew's sparkling production/arrangements and the fine playing of the many many guests that appear throughout At Apogee.  What comes out is an incredibly melodic song cycle that explores longing, language, death, joy, and a bajillion other emotions characters and situations over the course of its 66 minute running time.   Thank goodness that there are fearless independent artists such as Mr. Smolin to give us detention.  4.5 stars.
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