Only Forward Everything's Perfect. Release Date : 2006. Label: Kindling/Warner. Rating: Surprising. (Screw points. To each his own!) Wow... for the first few seconds, I thought this was going to be a bit bland. A simple, standard, swift acousitc guitar strum, and then a nonsense-lyric introduction (ba doodle doo la doo style)... but then Roy Vuorela starts wailing away like a downtempo Jimmy Gnecco (of Ours... if you don't know, go now and find them). So while the first track, appropriately titled "Hi" but which blends seamlessly into track two, "Trees," isn't the most striking song simply tune-wise, the voice make it quite stunning. It still feels a bit like singer-songwritery summertime and folk festival music, like a Jack Johnson crowd would probably be really into it. But at least we aren't faced with another weird dusky-voiced saptastic crooner (James Blunt and John Mayer, I'm looking at you). It feels more freeing, like driving down the highway in a convertible, rather than sounding like the guy's just trying to appear sensitive enough to hop into bed with the girls who'll melt over it all. It appears that the album will progress much the same - good, but standard songs that are made tons better by the addition of this soaring voice. It's not in overkill though - in fact, I might like to see it more. Vuolera keeps the voice in check for much of the songs, striking the wail out only during huge choruses. And near the end of "Last Drop..." is that some distinctly Catherine Wheel-esque guitar going on in the background? A bit fuzzy and squealing... mm. Absolutely positive music about reforming and growing into something better. Perhaps a coming-of-age album? Perhaps a life-altered-and-now-I'm-gonna-sing-about-it album? Song of choice : Love the intro to "Promises, Promises." It can totally carry the whole song. Lovely instruments. And the rock n roll of "Little Things" is pretty cool and a stand-out from the rest of the album. -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere Only Forward website Published : January, 2007.