By Kevin Smith
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday October 10, 2002
Ordinary Time
What is it with the moniker singer/songwriter these days? They're "everywhere to me": Michelle Branch, John Mayer, Connor Oberst, Vanessa Carlton and Howie Day. Flip through the radio dials and soon you'll hear a song by one of these usual suspects.
Damn you, Dave Matthews, damn you!
Philadelphia's Bill Ricchini, luckily, doesn't want to "run through the halls" of any high school or "walk a thousand miles." What he does want to do is sound like Brian Wilson circa the "locked in his bedroom" period. He does a decent job, too. This LP is quiet, reserved, quasi-psychedelic and was recorded on a Dell PC. Dude, you're getting a record contract!
This album is refreshing because it does not try to sound ready for radio. It's a relaxing break from a cluttered mind. It's not upbeat, so it probably won't make it to "Total Request Live." Praise the Lord! Are we finally getting musicians that are ready to make records for the sake of making records?
The songs are also short but have lots of exposed elements such as cellos, trumpets, drums, piano/organ and bass. In "Like Falling Asleep", we hear violins, a guitar and Ricchini's distant voice crooning a lullaby to an insomniac sounding like a much better option than Sleep-Ex. Most modern singer/songwriters be damned, but here is one who should stick around.
