More than one sufficiently blown-away listener has compared Carried Away to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. We understand that this borders on heresy, so let us explain: It’s not that Carried Away is destined to be a classic — chances are, not enough people will hear it — and it’s not groundbreaking in the manner of Pepper. But the CD does combine an array of pop and rock elements — different styles, ambitious arrangements, revealing lyrics and a general sense of possibility — that calls to mind the Beatles landmark. The CD came about as a serendipitous meeting of two old friends, who began with a minor collaboration that flowered into a major one. The songs are hooky, intelligent, adult and spiced by the sublime vocals (and tandem harmonies) of Ditchflowers Brian Merrill and Ed Woltil. The two enlisted some confederates and took their time writing and recording Carried Away at Merrill’s home studio. The results are close to perfection.

theditchflowers.com.

This article appears in Sep 12-18, 2007.