Venice: Spin Art (Vanguard):

A flirty combination of 1970's pop and melodic early 90's alterna-rock, Venice combines super catchy compositions with exquisite four part vocal arrangements.  With a heavy dose of acoustic rhythm guitar and a little bit of Blues Traveler-style harmonica sprinkled on top of tight arrangements a la the Bobs, Venice's new CD will appeal to just about all fans of pop music whose main interest isn't R&B or hip-hop.

Part of the right vocal sound can be attributed to the fact that the four guys singing are related to each other: Kipp and Michael Lennon are first cousins, and their respective brothers Pat and Mark round out the lineup.  Another person behind this album's perfect sonic sheen is rock veteran Thom Panunzio (U2, Springsteen, Pretenders), who mixed it.  For the most part, however, it's the Lennon clan's singing that makes this album work, along with the perfect sequencing of upbeat tunes ("The Man You Think I Am," "One Quiet Day,") midtempo tunes ("Mary on My Mind," "The Road to Where You Are") and ballads ("So Bad," a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide").  It all adds up to tasty ear candy that's utterly irresistible.
   
—Don Fluckinger