In The EndThere is nothing I love more than the end of summer. The days are just the right length, the temperature is perfect; its just open windows at night, warm drinks in the morning, and Meringue all day. So when I recently got a copy of Mike Romeo’s In The End LP, you can imagine how excited I was to have a soundtrack for my favorite transitional season. You see, dissonance and reverb are for winter, strummy acoustic guitars and harmonies are for summer, and Mike Romeo is for any day in-between.
Mike’s hazy take on what would otherwise be Britpop, also his debut LP, has a definitively DIY sound. The entire album was recorded and mixed at Mike’s home in Ridgewood, with some additional touches done by friend and sound engineer Thomas Surprenant, And though they are home recordings, the result is certainly not in line with the lo-fi sound that has become so popular in Brooklyn. Instead, Mike tends to drench the boyish charm in his voice (think Chris Conley minus the whine) with a smooth, languid reverb, making the tightly layered harmonies flow together effortlessly. Additionally, the strumming guitar that holds each track together is usually buried deep by mid-song, as layers of ambience, strings, or any of a multitude of instruments give these songs lasting life. Mike strives for a sound bigger than his recording capabilities can produce, but the effort is certainly there.
The record is aptly titled In The End (the title track boasts “You’re always last in the end”) as the songs regularly struggle with what’s right, what’s true…what’s sane. Mike admits that his lyrics are extremely personal, though its obvious he is more comfortable sharing those feelings with the world if they are somewhat obscured. For instance, take his image of the sun throughout the album. He awaits it’s arrival (“The Truth”), watches it bloom before him, and then, as it sets he chases after it (“Blow It Away”). Mike’s involvement with NYPIRG, NYs largest public interest group and a strong advocator of green solutions, could give his allusions a literal meaning. More likely, however, is that the end justifies the means, and the intangible feeling of Mike’s work is greater than any one line. Standout track, “The Sun,” best exemplifies this, building upon itself until it reaches its upward spirally chorus, preluded by the almost indecipherable mantra “I’ll communicate through this rhythm.”
A couple weeks ago I sat down with Mike at NE Kingdom, and was pleased to hear how passionate he was about this group of songs. He’s writing and recording for the right reasons, and he’s proving it by making the In The End LP available as a free download at SoundCloud. If you still aren’t sure if Mike Romeo is your kind of singer/songwriter, I highly recommend checking out “The Sun” posted on the music page here at BushwickBK.com, or heading to his MySpace. Also, Mike will be performing much of the LP with a full band tomorrow night (10/17) at Goodbye Blue Monday (1087 Broadway).
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