May 8, 2009

Mod-A-Day: The Red Button

If you could only listen to one record produced in 2007 you would have to choose The Red Button's debut release, She's About To Cross My Mind. In fact, if you could only listen to one record for the rest of your life The Red Button would be in the top tier of those that might make the cut.

The Red Button is really the pop music vehicle of avid baseball fan and author, singer/songwriter Seth Swirsky. Along with Mike Ruekberg of Minnesota's power poppers Rex Daisy, Swirky has put together a pitch perfect pop album. The songs float easily out of the speakers, caressing your ears with something akin to aural cotton candy. And yet, this isn't sugary, bubblegum pop. It's pop music that has an ephemeral quality such as the swirling, soft psychadelia of "Free", or the harmonies of "She's Going Down", or the very Beattleseque "Cruel Girl". It's so smooth, so accessible that you'd be hard pressed to call this power pop, though it is. The song here, "Floating By", is just one such.

The Red Button -- Floating By