Seth Swirsky, Watercolor Day

Seth Swirsky just wants to make the world whistle and hum, and that’s just what he does on his new, second solo album, Watercolor Day. Swirsky’s love of classically constructed pop songs continues from his winning solo debut, Instant Pleasure (Best Pop Album 2005, Los Angeles Music Awards) through his deliciously retro, British Invasion-minded project with Mike Ruekberg, The Red Button, whose 2007 release, She’s About to Cross My Mind, was both a critical and commercial success. “If The Red Button was around in the ‘60s,” said legendary Beatles recording engineer, Norman Smith, “I would have signed them to EMI!” Now, just two years later, comes Swirsky’s highly ambitious (18 songs in just 43 minutes) Watercolor Day. To borrow a phrase coined by the great Nick Lowe, this is truly an album of pure pop for now people. Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles agrees: “Watercolor Day is a sonic banquet of delicious melodies, melt-in–your-mouth harmonies, warm butterscotch guitars that jangle and shine — made with love and reverence for the music of the golden age of pop — guaranteed to raise a smile!’” Swirsky’s songs have their roots in the most blissful work of Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney’s Wings, ELO and the smart style of Burt Bacharach. Some highlights include the 10cc-inspired, “Matchbook Cover,” the baroque “Song for Heather,” the sunshine-y “Summer in Her Hair” and the cheeky “Big Mistake.” But to Paul Ellis, music-historian and member of the highly acclaimed rock group, Pop Archaeology Transmission, the songs on Watercolor Day can be compared with the best in the pop genre: “I was going to say that Seth has created one of the best current retro ‘60s Sunshine Pop albums out there, but that’s not the whole story. What he’s actually created is one of THE best albums in that style, ever. Period. Regardless of the “when” aspect, this...