PJ Pacifico Reviewed
PJ Pacifico
Well I’ll Be
(Viper)
Ex-Sunflower frontman P.J. Pacifico follows the straight-and-narrow on his debut LP.
Breezing through the album like a parasailor strapped to a motorboat with an endless supply of gasoline, the chances of turbulent weather on Well I’ll Be are about as likely as the Bears surmounting a 20-point deficit without an offense. Pacifico’s sunny flavor lightheartedly compares a burgeoning romance to a movie review, and smartly avoids the plague of melodrama. But problems begin when Pacifico’s voice fails to waver. Generally likeable and notched somewhere between Michael Stipe and Simply Red’s Red Hucknall, he never adjusts it to fit the situation or affect nuance. While even bassist Dave Kimball finds room to move around and adds a touch of The Cure to “This One,” Pacifico doggedly sticks to his formula, unaware singer-songwriters and formulas can be a fatal mixture.
— Kevin Keegan
Appearing: October 21st at Buzz Cafe in Oak Park.
