Solid State Warrior

AMG Review of Solid State Warrior

Joseph McCombs
All Music Guide

When Roger Joseph Manning (he added the "Joseph" to avoid confusion with another musician named Roger Manning) was ready to issue his debut solo album, Solid State Warrior, in 2005, rather than use the traditional retail model, he opted for digital distribution via a novel but short-lived service called Weedshare that attempted to harness peer-to-peer tastemaking capabilities. Neither the service nor the album gained traction -- a pity, since as sunshine pop albums go, this one was, well, solid. It was released with this track ordering and title on the Pony Canyon label in Japan, then reconfigured slightly for a U.S. album release the next year under a different title, The Land of Pure Imagination. Replaced were three tracks: two forgettable lullaby ditties ("Sleep Children," "Til We Meet Again") and one bona fide candy-coated delight (replete with toy piano melody), "What You Don't Know About the Girl." The rest of the album continues in the sunny power pop mold; it doesn't tip over into exceedingly twee or baroque territory, but rather emphasizes bright melodies and playful arrangements. Manning, who played all the instruments and produced, sometimes toys too much with fuzz and treble and such, but his songwriting sensibilities, honed over his years with Jellyfish, Imperial Drag, and the Moog Cookbook, remain acute if sometimes oversweetened. Well worth seeking out.