What They Say About RICH ARITHMETIC
Kudos & Comments
Rich Arithmetic is back with another era-defying pop masterwork, Pushbutton Romance!
Our stats indicate that this week’s spin of “When You Want Somebody (To Make Love To)” is only the fifth time a Rich Arithmetic track has ever graced (our) playlist. Man, where the hell have we been? This fine tune comes to us from the brand-new Rich Arithmetic album Pushbutton Romance, it’s flippin’ fantastic, and it’s back on the radio again in our next show. We may be slow. But we ain’t stupid.
“Rich Arithmetic is like a painter who colors his songs with shades of musical yesteryear. And his new album Pushbutton Romance offers a wide variety of sonic hues: new wave, jangle, baroque, and a whole load of sixties vibes . . . the guitar tones and vocal arrangements on this record are something else.”
A welcome return to the pop music scene, Shiftingears represents a continuation of Rich Arithmetic’s reverence for the pop-rock music of earlier decades, and his skill at giving his own compositions a full measure of originality.
It’s a little hard to pigeonhole Rich Arithmetic because his music spans multiple genres, including 60s British Invasion pop, 70s power pop, baroque chamber pop music, folk, Americana, psych, surf, and modern pop. There’s even literal chamber music on this record . . . . But even though Rich Arithmetic is firmly rooted in a retro vibe, there’s an incredible amount of variety here, and Pushbutton Romance remains eminently cohesive.
Pushbutton Romance is a good deal better than good! The songs are fresh and inventive.
Rich Arithmetic has added another album, Pushbutton Romance, to his already amazing portfolio . . . no minuses, only pluses.
Shiftingears is the type of pop album I wish I could make.