Purgatory

During a Mother Hips performance, it’s common to find Greg Loiacono comfortably upstaged by Tim Bluhm. Though both men play guitar and sing, Bluhm’s blonde California surfer good looks and lovers’ lyrics tend to draw the attention of fawning female fans. But there are some heady and organic mechanics to be found in Loiacono’s songs. Branching out with his debut solo album Purgatory, opening track “And Not Cry” shines a spotlight on Loiacono’s record collection — specifically the pre-Saturday Night Fever Bee Gees section – the natural vibrato in his elegant high-tenor inflects with a brothers Gibb trill, like he was the missing piece to 1971’s Trafalgar — Paul Hoaglin’s falsetto parts in the background further allude to the androgynous vocal styles of Barry, Robin and Maurice. Flanged drum loops and eerie Mellotron notes help darken the corners of “Ode to Harvey Schwartz” before “Wait Until Spring” surfaces like an unearthed time capsule containing a rare acetate where Tin Pan Alley players once backed the Left Banke. “He’s So Brave” muses on a tattoo-faced skateboarder, playing like Dennis Wilson fronting the Vaselines.