Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Maxwell Stern, Lauren Records/Bandcamp 2020.
I found this album, at least the first two tracks from it, on Bandcamp and was intrigued to find out some more about Maxwell Stern.
Maxwell is based in Philadelphia in Pennsylvania and according to his bio he’s been writing music and touring in various bands and as a solo artist since the early 2000s.
He’s released a slew of albums and singles and played everywhere from China and Germany to Australia and beyond and yet these two singles are the first music I’ve heard from him.
Stern’s music falls into the indie folk/pop/rock category and it’s characterised by catchy melodies and interesting lyrics with enough musical hooks to keep the listener interested.
He claims his influences include Neil Young and Tom Petty and I can hear some of their stylings in the two singles so far released.
They both contain melodies that have you humming along with after only a couple of listens.
Stern, the lead singer from Cleveland bands Signals Midwest and Meridian and New York band Timeshares, used the pandemic forced shutdown to forge ahead on his latest solo project, Impossible Sum.
He says that writing solo music has been a significant change for him because he is usually writing for one of his bands where everything is filtered through the band members and the genre of music they play.
With Impossible Sum he’s been able to throw all that away to make something completely different.
What he’s come up with is an intriguing blend of styles that mix a retro 70s 80s folk/rock feel with a more up-to-date indie vibe and as a taster for the album these two tracks have hooked me in.
Impossible Sum is due for release in September and if you purchase the album now you get the two singles, Born At The End Of A Year and Water Tower, plus the complete album when its released.
