Coffee. Sometimes, there’s nothing better first thing in the morning to relieve last night's hangover and provide the necessary energy for the day ahead. However, coffee AND indiemonkey.com favourite Jeff Witzeman teamed together, is perhaps even more irresistible.
That's because the LA based singer-songwriter’s new song 'Hollywood Girl' has been licensed by Starbucks Coffee for in-store play in all locations across America.
As well as no doubt providing him with plenty of free coffee, such exposure should also propel Witzeman and his excellent brand new self-released album, 'Oh My God', into the collective consciousness of lots of people.
'In the Middle of the Riddle', was an extremely accomplished Americana/roots rock debut, and for the follow-up, Witzeman has collaborated once again with gifted producer/musician Evan Frankfort to release one of the best independent albums of 2002.
Whilst broadly similar to the debut in terms of edgy style and atmposhere, 'Oh My God' feels a step further commercially for Witzeman. Certainly, 'Hollywood Girl' is one of the catchiest tunes you will hear all year and the album as a whole feels more geared up for broader acclaim than 'In the Middle of the Riddle'.
The anthemic 'Get High Everybody' is another melodic highlight pointing in a more pop-rock orientated direction. 'In Another Time' is moody and powerful with a strong chorus, and the up-tempo 'Out of the Red' is further evidence of the quality songwriting on the album.
If comparisons must be made, the album (and the latter song in particular) comes across as Tom Cochrane meets the Wallflowers and Ryan Adams, but it's clear that Witzeman has a unique sound of his own.
The acoustic based 'Ashes' and opening track 'Dumb' display more traits of that atmospheric roots-rock influence so evident on his debut. The musical strides he has made since then are perfectly displayed on 'Moonshine', a wonderful pop-flavoured collaboration with Ski that could be a potential hit.
Sonically, 'Oh My God' sounds as good, if not better than its predecessor thanks to Frankfort’s clean, crisp and powerful production, not to mention the modern effects and touches he colours songs like 'Ashes' and the cover of John Lennon’s 'Isolation' with.
In short, 'Oh My God' is cool, contemporary and consistently good. It's also further proof, if any were needed, of the standard of music orbiting outside the radar of the Top 40. Hopefully, Starbucks won’t be the only place Jeff Witzeman’s music will be heard over the next few months.