Mike Evin

All right, it might seem lazy to say, seeing as he's a pop singer that plays piano, but Mike Evin sounds a hell of a lot like Ben Folds. The voice, the clever lyrics and yes, the piano — you'd swear this was some aborted record from back when he was with the Five. And it's not bad either. But what sets Good Watermelon apart is the way it was recorded. Evin gathered friends, including former Barenaked Lady Andy Creegan, and members of the Ideal Lovers collective in a Montreal studio, and recorded the whole damn thing live-off-the-floor. You can hear Evin calling out to his band and listen to the sounds bounce off the studio walls. It's a major statement in a world where modern mixing and mastering techniques have sapped all the energy and spontaneity in music.