Jon Pousette-Dart - Anti-Gravity

Jon Pousette-Dart - Anti-Gravity
2011, Little Big Deal Music

The Pousette-Dart Band was one of the seminal soft-rock bands of the 1970s, transforming the folk tendencies of the 1960's into a palatable form of rock n roll.  Jon Pousette-Dart spent much of the 1970's as one of the big names in popular music, touring with acts such as Yes, Peter Frampton and James Taylor.  The 1980's saw Pousette-Dart making a comfortable living doing session work and writing jingles, but the limelight beckoned again in the 1990's.  By 2002, Pousette-Dart was on his own; crafting his incredibly catchy melodies into a roots-influenced brand of folk/rock that seems the logical outgrowth of his earlier work.  Pousette-Dark continues creating little bits of musical magic on his latest album, Anti-Gravity.

Pousette-Dart opens with the refined Americana-rock of "Anti-Gravity", an upbeat love song built on catchy hook and strong chorus.  The song manages to capture emotion in musical amber, preserving it to bloom again for the listener's benefit.  "Me And The Rain" is based in a resigned melancholy and sort of optimistic fatalism that begs salvation from the mundane.  The song is beautifully crafted, with the vocal harmonies adding great atmosphere.  Pousette-Dart shows a definite talent for lyrical turns, with lines such as "Calling all dreamers to live in the light / I'm making my peace with the night."  On "Better Everyday", Pousette-Dart offers up a sing-along chorus in a tune about making your way one step at a time. 

"Great Wide Open" ruminates on mortality and the opportunities that remain, delving into a brand of beautiful fatalism speckled with hope.  "Words" is pure fun, a catchy number that's perhaps a bit outside of fans' expectations but no less welcome for the fact.  "Who I Am" is a stunning duet with Jaime Kyle about the tragedy of Alzheimer's.  Sweet and heartfelt, the song details the small victories of knowing and being known.  If you've been there with a loved one this song will hit home hard.  "Heaven Is Here" is crafted from the best pure melody on the album, and looks for Heaven here on earth.  It's a great folk/rock number that's catchy and upbeat.  Anti-Gravity bows with "How Could I Walk Away", a song of love and devotion that avoids saccharine or cliché turns.  The song is nothing less than brilliant in both its composition and its sense of heart.

Jon Pousette-Dart continues to break new ground with "Anti-Gravity", which may be his best collective work to date.  Working with collaborators such as Jim Chapdelaine, Gary Nicholson, and Angelo and Jaime Kyle, Pousette-Dart continues to craft searching songs of love and redemption in a comfortable musical style that moves you and sinks into you at the same time.  "Anti-Gravity" is an honest and mature effort from artist who has paid his dues and can now simply sit back and write and play from his muse.  It's an effort worth becoming familiar with.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Jon Pousette-Dart at www.pousette-dart.com.  Anti-Gravity is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.