The Band:
Emerson Hart - Vocals, Guitar
Jeff Russo - Guitar
Dan Lavery - Bass
Peter Maloney - Drums (on this record)
Bio (from [url]www.yahoo.com[/url]):
Los Angeles-based Tonic plays melodic alternapop music that's clearly influenced by late-'70s rock and early '80s new wave. The band's probably best known for the breakthrough crossover hit single, "If You Could Only See." Played on alternative, top 40 and adult alternative stations, this tune almost single-handedly furnished platinum sales (over 1 million copies) for their debut album,
Lemon Parade. Tonic--Emerson Hart, vocals/ guitar; Jeff Russo, guitar; Dan Lavery, bass; and various drummers--have only two albums to their name, but even so have made their mark in the '90s pop market.
Emerson Hart was raised in New Jersey; he met New Yorker Jeff Russo at a pool hall in Los Angeles. The two hooked up with Dan Lavery and drummer Kevin Shepard at the Hollywood, California hot spot Canter's Kibbitz Room, a place where bands such as the Wallflowers would go for pre-record-deal late-night jam sessions. The four formed a band and called themselves Tonic, a music-theory reference to the root in a series of chords. Frequent touring helped them land a record deal with Polydor.
With the help of producer Jack Joseph Puig (Black Crowes, Jellyfish), Tonic recorded
Lemon Parade, which was released in 1996. They went on to appear on many national TV shows--Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Vibe, Keenen Ivory Wayans, etc.--and complete a successful American tour. Shepard departed before sessions for the next album began; he was replaced, at least for recording purposes, by Peter Maloney. Titled
Sugar, Tonic's second album was produced by the band and released in the fall of 1999.
Overview:
Let me start right off the bat with what critics of this album won't like: the word "love" appears over sixty times in the lyric booklet (I counted, but I'm sure I missed one or miscounted somewhere, so I'm approximating). If you don't like this band, it is most probably because the lyrics are almost always about love, and can be just a tad sappy. The worst offender of the "L" word is "You Wanted More", the single you may have heard from "American Pie". There are, however, four songs without the word in them at all ("Future Says Run", "Mean To Me", "Queen", "Drag Me Down"), but aside from those, it's pretty clear that the art of writing love songs is the driving force behind this record.
The case for all this lovey-dovey writing is the fact that Tonic walks the fine line between rock and catchy pop. In other words, many of these songs have downright rocking guitar lines and band arrangements, yet they all maintain the ability to stick in your head. We're not talking bubblegum pop; these songs get in your head in a good, alternative pop song way. They're catchy to the point that you may find yourself humming them to yourself after a few listens, while you can still hum the guitar lines or maybe even play a little air guitar if you're feeling a bit outlandish.
Sugar is a showcase for the band's ability to fuse alternative rock and pop seamlessly, and create some very good songs in the process. If you're feeling a touch of the love sickness yourself, songs like "Sugar", "Waltz With Me", and "Waiting For The Light To Change" will give you those warm fuzzies you like so much, while "Future Says Run", "Mean To Me", and "Queen" maintain more of a rock feel and less of a departure to even out the album. Every song here compliments the playlist; they somehow manage to balance out the album, providing changes of mood and style when they're required.
Given the merits of this album, the love songs really aren't much of a problem... as a matter of fact, they're all written and arranged beautifully. If you're looking for doom and gloom, though, you won't find it here. If you're looking for a decent rock/pop act, though, this album is for you.
4/5
