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Reviews | Lyrics Reviews: 10 BEST OF THE YEAR LIST: "The former leader of Let's Active, one of the most influential alternative jangle-pop bands to emerge from the Chapel Hill, N.C., scene of the mid-'80s, finally got around to releasing his solo debut after years of producing classic albums for others, including R.E.M. (Murmur, Reckoning), Velvet Crush, Pavement and Helium. When he stepped back into the spotlight as performer, his chiming pop sounded as fresh and powerful as ever, especially on smokers such as '1 ½ Way Street' and 'Ton of Bricks.'" "[I]f we ever though Easter was outta juice, Dynamico blows that reckoning to smithereens. The songs on the legendary pop musician/producer's first solo album since Let's Active went idle in 1989 could've been written at any point on the last two decades, maybe kept in a bunker 'til he got bored of the boards. There's no update, no bid for new millennial relevance; Easter's trademark jangle, a '60s fetish in an '80s context, is intact. His chords and his choruses hang in the air waiting for us to grab onto 'em for a ride through fluffy clouds, star fields and unlucky birds. He hasn't even lost his ability to wring taut melodious solos from the neck of his Ricky. And to that, we can only say... dynamico!" "During Let's Active's mid-1980s heyday, critics would drop adjectives such as 'winsome,' 'jangly' and 'cute' to describe the music. Dynamico, Let's Active mastermind Mitch Easter's first album since the waning days of the Reagan administration, should inspire no such descriptors. While Easter still cranks out the hooks, catchy as ever, Dynamico is undeniably a rock album—and just like rock beats scissors, rock beats pop, too... [Easter] has matured into a far more confident-sounding vocalist than before. His voice is downright commanding on 'Break Through,' dressing down detractors real and imagined ('I can imagine the headlines, they never get close to the truth'). By the time Easter throws in some chiming, Byrdsy guitar on 'Why Is It So Hard?' two-thirds of the way through Dynamico, his rock bonafides are unimpeachable.
We can only hope it's not another 19 years before he does this again." "[I]t has been 18 years since Easter last released a full album of music. Dynamico, the artist's first-ever solo album, fills that void. Easter's voice may be a bit worn, yet it still shines with that elfin, Robyn Hitchcock-like tone that is familiar to fans of his earlier work... Dynamico succeeds in its eclecticism and expert playing... 'Sudden Crown Drop' is all fuzzed-out, shimmering instrumentation spiked with a chiming chorus, a touch of electronic textures, and a fantastic acoustic guitar solo. 'Sights Set on Heaven' features a big guitar riff, monstrous bass, and anthem-worthy chorus, and 'Why Is It so Hard' finds Easter returning to the Byrds-esque jangle and harmony-inflected power pop with which he is most associated... Dynamico is solid proof that Easter is still relevant and needed in today's indie-rock scene. With any luck, we won't have to wait another 18 years for his next album." "When there are new pop 'geniuses' and 'maestros' hailed every week, it's instructive to hear exactly how high the standards are set by a true master such as this iconic indie producer and former Let's Active leader. Complex and many-layered, it's never less than enthralling and pretty close to unique." "[H]e quotes from 70s pop sensations like T-Rex, and David Bowie, but only a bit, he mostly employs his own Let's Active sound to great enthused dynamic effect. This certainly sounds unlike anything else floating around at the moment; it's an all out revved-up jangling power pop assault with a few sidetrips along the way. After a hiatus of eighteen years, he sounds quite intact over the course of the fourteen tracks here." "Dynamico [is] a mighty fine melding of Let's Active's enduring melodic sense plus The Rock. Dynamico is Easter's guitar-hero album—playing dead-on guitar that's just right for every song. Good times!" "Holy time warp! Mitch Easter, the Phil Spector of Southern pop, has released his first solo album in 18 years, and it's as if nothing has changed. That's a compliment. These fussily-crafted songs are filled with dollops of power chords, clever hooks, sweet dual-gender harmonies, nifty wordplay, Pink Floyd-like sound effects and even some sitar. Easter's production is as seamless as anything he did for REM, Pylon, or his own former band, Let's Active. With music this good, you gotta believe that when Easter sings, 'I want a new scene,' he's not just being nostalgic." "When we heard that Mitch Easter was releasing a new album, we had mixed feelings. We were mainly excited... but we were also worried about the possibilities. After all, when most artists stop releasing music and then return twenty years later they are either re-treading old territory or they have totally lost the spark. Most folks remember Mr. Easter as the producer of the first R.E.M. album or for the Let's Active tune "Every Word Means No"... but the real meat of Mitch's music were the non-hits that were only heard and appreciated by a relatively small yet loyal fan base. But on to the present. Dynamico is... FANTASTIC. This CD is Mitch Easter's most consistent and thoroughly engaging album EVER. Instead of sounding old and burned out, Mitch still sounds like an excited 17 year old. The tunes are vibrant and fresh... the vocals right on target... and those unmistakable loopy guitars sound as good as they ever did. Will this be the CD to push Mitch's career into the mainstream...? Probably not. His songs are still a bit too awkward and peculiar for the mass market. But our guess is that Dynamico will receive unanimous praise from critics and fans. One thing is for certain. He was out of the spotlight for far too long. Mitch Easter is back, THANK GOD. Let's hope this will be followed by many more albums in the years ahead... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED." "The only real surprise about Dynamico is that it's only [Easter's] first solo album after so many years in the business. There's no surprise regarding quality, that's for sure. The songs are hooky and jangly, with exactly enough grit to keep the edges just jagged enough that the power never flees the pop. The harmonies are exquisite, especially on 'You/Me,' one of the best power pop songs to come along in ages. One begins to get the idea that Mitch Easter can't miss. A quarter of a century into his career, Easter's first solo album is finally here; it's everything we hoped it would be and more. Gives you a chance to catch on, in case you missed him the first time around." "[Mitch] hasn't lost his edge lyrically or musically, blasting out some ripping guitar solos. Arrangements are enchanting, with hooky counter-melodies, subtle style shifts, and accents of vibe, chime, even horns, and just the right amount of jangle. While these songs may leave you wistful about the old days they so vividly recall, this is new, this is now. The glory hasn't passed, and this is fresh and relevant, not a nostalgia piece." "[Dynamico] proves he's still got more fire and inherent rock 'n' roll chops inside of him than many of the bands he's worked with over the years... [T]his album is a driving, rocking, bucking beast of a release, and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mitch should be spending more time creating and releasing his own music than he does working with others... Killer stuff from one of America's true unsung musical heroes—a must-have." "Easter's return to the racks is something to celebrate. Dynamico picks up right where Let's Active left off, continuing Easter's journey through smart, psychedelia-tinged power pop as if 20 years haven't passed—even Easter's voice has the same youthful reediness of times of yore. The consistently high quality throughout makes it hard to pick favorites, but if I was a radio programmer, I'd throw 'Sights Set On Heaven,' 'Sudden Crown Drop,' '1 ½ Way Street' or 'The Phantoms of Ephemera' (how many other songwriters could use that awkward phrase as a chorus and make it work?) onto the airwaves and let the aural pleasure flow." "Dynamico is an LP of the savory power pop that Let's Active fans have been waiting for. Easter's vocal style is the kind that ages well... the hooks we crave [are] here in spades. The guitars crunch and swirl in all the right places and the production is immaculate." "The man who produced R.E.M.'s 'Radio Free Europe' and founded what remains one of the indie community's fondest collective memories, Let's Active, returns with a pop song so mercilessly compact and insistently catchy, you'll wish the 7" single was still the primary delivery system for singles. Along with an indelible chorus, it also boasts a 16-second guitar solo packed with enough melodic ideas to power a couple more songs." "Happily, the time off... doesn't seem to have dulled [Easter's] chops. He might be part of rock's over-50 club, but his voice remains essentially the same wiry instrument that sent 'Every Word Means No' onto college playlists over two decades ago; in a lot of ways, Dynamico picks up right where Easter left off in '88, and will be a shockingly pleasant treat for a lot of longtime fans. You don't need to be an old power pop aficionado, however, to appreciate this album. Though Easter still sings like the guy whose videos some of us still remember from MTV's '120 Minutes,' the intervening years have scuffed and darkened his sound... Easter's guitar, in particular, is a changed animal, all wiry knots and hard, chromed angles." "The king of southern jangle is still at the top of his power-pop game... infectious melodies, slightly skewed harmonies, and
effervescent pop hooks... Anyone with a
Baby baby it is such a drag We can ride this out Maybe baby we are here nor there We can ride... Mayday May Day parade this time We can ride... 2. Break Through You're saying the word you're throwing a curve Ready or not whatever you got I'm glad we got to say a few words before Day Two This is a blast these things can't last 3. Time Warping Hey, let's go I mean, I can't see where walking the line makes one thin dime's worth So equate me to medicine distilled from a swamp root Let's go time warping fast forward I think straight I know actions speak louder than words so I'll say no more, just one Which makes up for volumes of generalizing Let's go... Hey atom brain This review's called Best of the Bad, all part of you're gonna be glad And if not, well it makes a nice story for some other time Let's go... 4. You/Me Lightin' buggin' camera muggin' cut the ruggin' One no money two was no-show three's not ready Lightnin' buggin... 5. Sudden Crown Drop Classically dry silica gel You rule our on-high potentate Did we do all that stuff, so stupid and tough? Our throw weight thrown out taking a bath Did we do all that stuff, so stupid and tough Where's the Cool Lab, who's got the plans? Country of origin unknown Did we do all that stuff?, we're so stupid and tough 6. Ton of Bricks The weight of saying something Hush don't wake the sleeping Just sign right here please, here's your ton of bricks Weight must be the message The straight are thinking nothing Then go wake the sleeping 7. Sights Set on Heaven We non-fashion buffs can't miss the pattern With sights set on heaven We self-satisfied may see a beacon With sights set on heaven... 8. Dusky Lair I was staying mum on the zero sum and the fight for crumbs As I lie awake thinking "big mistake!" oh the risks we take hand me my We put so much faith in by-and-by Writing might have been with the mightless pen people giving in it's a We put so much faith in by-and-by... We put so much faith in by-and-by 9. To Be, Cool Thing I still want you every day 47 million words Where was the famous and inner voice? Where was the famous and inner voice? 10. Why Is It so Hard? As we watch the setting sun, our shadows long Too many thorns in the backside Funny how the more you speak the highs get low We heard the sinister static The voice of reason kept at bay My girl gets me out of here and none too soon You can keep all that hellfire garbage Why is it so hard? Champion blowhards 11. The Phantoms of Ephemera Just how many ways to gravitate in our inner space age flight Hey you- what's with you? Pale in the sun, parched in the rain If not actionable, call us threadbare But you- what's with you Pale in the sun, parched in the rain Hey you... 12. Glazed Inspector Betacam there's your man Crime mobile phone tebouleh thriller Quarter-tones on the Slitherphone set to the nth Lavender hideaway apartment Somewhere I've seen her 13. I Want a New Scene If this is the way you show me, hold me I want a new scene where something kinda makes sense We go the way ballistic statistic I want a new scene... I always think of what you missed I'm tired, too, of that old song I want a new scene... 14. Love Slaves to Paradise Lost The Eternal Optimist vs. Godzilla Of course I know better, I just don't stop myself They're talking crusty so very flaky Of course I know better... Of course I know better, I just don't stop myself
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