Stephen Jerzak wears his influences on his sleeve, bouncing between
Owl City’s electro-pop and
Never Shout Never’s cutesy teen folk on this major-label debut. Like both of those bands, he’s a self-made musician, championed and supported by an audience he singlehandedly built through MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook updates.
Miles and Miles is no homemade record, though. For starters,
Jerzak gets help from several A-listers, including the Matrix (who wrote, recorded, and produced “Ha to the PPY") and multi-platinum producer Matt Squire (who contributed the club anthem “Next Level").
Miles and Miles also ditches the homespun acoustics that filled his previous album,
My Uke Has a Crush on You, and focuses on an electronic, syrupy, synthesized sound. When you cut through the flamboyant production and glossy studio polish, though, these songs aren't entirely different from everything else in the
Jerzak catalog -- which should satisfy longtime fans who haven't lost their sweet tooth. ~ Andrew Leahey