Oxytocin

For those who are not familiar with the more biochemical aspects of obstetrics, oxytocin is a hormone secreted in the pituitary gland that helps to induce labor. Oxytocin the album by Snowglobe is said to be the first in what is intended to be a series of "solo-directed projects" by members of the group. It is, in other words, a sort of solo album, in this case by Brad Postlethwaite, using the other members of Snowglobe as his backup band. In addition to singing in a diffident tenor, Postlethwaite plays several instruments, mostly guitars and keyboards, although also a musical saw. His music is in a pop-oriented progressive rock style that harks back to such 1967 British albums as Something Else by the Kinks and the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Postlethwaite likes to take things at deliberate tempos and to fill the midrange of his arrangements with the sounds of the saw, Casio keyboards, a cello, a violin, and/or a pedal steel guitar. Over these chamber pop sounds, he sings personal and romantic reflections about love and loss and family loyalty, reflecting in "At Times a Nightmare," "should have offered her a ring" and stating in "Simple Song," "just wanna tell you I still love you." He also loves his baby brother, which he demonstrates in the lullaby-like closing tune, "Sweet Dreams." Under his direction, Snowglobe make a dreamy, atmospheric pop album that is charming as well as soft-focused.