With a voice and pop sensibility that fall somewhere in between
Rufus Wainwright,
Josh Ritter, and
Ron Sexsmith, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter
John Gold’s third outing offers up a nice bit of
Harry Nilsson-esque AM pop, wrapped up in a quirky indie rock candy coating. A little too beholden to the verse/chorus/verse/chorus template of his radio heroes,
Gold's easy voice and penchant for simple, effective melodies work best when he lets the song wander out into the street. Stand-out cuts like “Skyscraper” and “The Loop” -- the latter of which is pure road-trip pop goodness wrapped in a miniature stadium-anthem package -- are as energizing as they are sticky sweet, and the sneaky “Baby It’s Your Life” paces about before unleashing a terrific
ELO-inspired chorus. In truth, there’s not a bad song to be found on
Flower in Your Head, as each moment is lovingly crafted and subtly detailed with the care of a true pop connoisseur, but
Gold's audio palette seems so caked in primary colors, that it may never have even occurred to him to mix them up, which is shame, as there are moments here that could have benefitted from a few gray skies. ~ James Christopher Monger