The Gabe Dixon Band have long been considered a staple of the college rock scene, but there's a definite lack of beer-slamming anthems on this album, which reintroduces the group as a slimmed-down trio with an improved focus on songwriting. It's often difficult for a frat rock band to leave the campus behind; O.A.R.'s All Sides, for example, saw the group struggling to transform their reggae-influenced jams into smooth, uplifting rock. Gabe Dixon goes about his conversion in a smarter manner, emphasizing his bouncing piano chords and pop-schooled melodies in a way that's both mature and commercial. Ben Folds Five are still a touchstone for the group, although Dixon's lyrics detail the ups and downs of love without the humor and cultural references that fuel Folds' work. Fans of David Gray, the Fray, and other smooth-voiced craftsmen will find much to enjoy about this self-titled effort, particularly during such highlights as "Disappear," "Far from Home," and the Wurlitzer-fueled "Find My Way." Too loud for the coffeehouse and too soft for modern rock radio, the Gabe Dixon Band nevertheless sound quite comfortable occupying their own niche.
This is piano rock done right. If you yern for the early Elton John, Leon Russel or Ben Folds Five piano rock goodness, you'll really like this trio. Here's a bit more about them from their Myspace page:Formed nine years ago by Dixon—then a classical piano major at the University of Miami—and his two college roommates, bassist Winston Harrison and drummer Jano Rix, they added a sax player and
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Dixon has been compared to singer-songwriters Ben Folds, Billy Joel and Elton John, and though he's likewise a pianist, his songs are more often wistful in the vein of Jackson Brown or Paul Simon. There's a soulful grandeur to his playing and singing, with funky elements as on Elton John's albums from the first-half of the 1970s; he lopes along on the New Orleans-styled second-line rhythm of "...
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