Linus of Hollywood

Rather disappointingly, Linus of Hollywood isn’t nearly as grand as he sounds. Linus, a nickname bestowed for a resemblance to the Peanuts character, turns out to be Kevin of Omaha. Kevin Dotson to be precise, someone who cut his musical teeth as a session musician with the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins and Puff Daddy before moving into production and writing with Tim Burgess and the Charlatans. But he hasn’t remained an unknown in the power pop scene, where his first two albums won critical acclaim, and after listening to Triangle it isn’t difficult to see why. Triangle hits all the right buttons, with its Beatles-esque, Beach Boys loving songs, and the fact that both Jellyfish’s Roger Manning and Probyn Gregory from the Wintermints make appearances help to cement its place as a near classic. Where it does differ from Jellyfish is that Linus’s arrangements are a lot less cluttered, allowing his vocals (which sound a lot like Squeeze’s Glenn Tilbrook) to take the spotlight. There isn’t anything revolutionary about Triangle but it would be hard to find a more polished, well executed collection of pop songs. Very listenable, very enjoyable and a great album from a very talented man.