There is no such thing as a perfect album. But Ian Axel’s debut, This is the New Year, comes pretty daggum close. I haven’t loved an entire album this much since I discovered Harry Nilsson’s 1971 life-changer Nilsson Schmilsson. Along the same notes as the legendary whiz, Axel tinkers and pounds on his piano keys about waltzing ghosts and life’s simple pleasures.
Axel’s astonishing talent has been too long hidden in the underground of New York’s Lower East Side, too long hoarded by those lucky enough to frequent his intimate, Ben Folds-esque performances around the city. This man needs an international spotlight.
Like power poppers who paved his way, most of Axel’s New Year is predominately piano-driven. What sets Axel apart is his constant experimentation with pop-rooted melodies. Track by track, he fluctuates from sassiness to sincerity with foot-stomping porch-party jigs, touching instrumental waltzes that will shred your heart into confetti, and sweeping sing-a-longs akin to the Dresden Doll’s self-labeled “Brechtian punk cabaret” (minus the masochistic lyrics and screaming).
When the album’s titular single was released as a free download on iTunes, I replayed it over and over again until I knew it by heart and was blasting out the notes louder than my car stereo. Axel’s call to “say everything you’ve always wanted, be not afraid of who you really are…live for now” is so full of earnest optimism that you can’t help but get pumped up by the clean-slate possibilities of New Year’s Resolutions.
If it makes you gag to think of the sunny side of life, or of one man’s love of PB&J so strong that the sandwich makes it onto two tracks, steer clear of Axel’s music. But if you are a fan of witty and memorable power pop, your life will have been meaningless until you experience This is the New Year (released independently Jan. 5).
Watch the video for the hit single here.
This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2010.