Send "Kelley Stoltz " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 Kelley Stoltz does a mean Brian Wilson, a half-decent Roger McGuinn, a spot-on Marc Bolan. He's got a Tom Petty, a Nick Drake, and a David Bowie that wouldn't get him kicked out of Vegas. Throughout Stoltz's decade-plus career, one name that hasn't always found its way into the discussion is his own; too often bedraggled by their influences, his songs-- never less than competent juxtapositions of glam, folk-rock, orchestral pop, and hints of proto-psych-- can feel like the work of a gifted stylist searching for a style to call his own. Stoltz's latest, To Dreamers, finds him dressing down the pocket symphonies that marked his two previous Sub Pop efforts, throwing a little more grease and grit at his well-oiled tunes. To Dreamers is one of Stoltz's most satisfying efforts to date, sounding bolder and more invigorated than nearly anything before it. Yet, when Stoltz sneers "Do you want to rock'n'roll with me?", exactly who's doing the asking gets a little lost in the tune's glammy shuffle.Stoltz, a San Francisco mainstay with a decidedly backward-looking sound, has watched a little like-minded scene build up around him over the last few years; the Bay Area's been hemorrhaging great psych-pop revival acts of late, many of whom Stoltz can count as friends and collaborators. Bands like Sonny & the Sunsets (for whom Stoltz has been drumming) and the Fresh & Onlys may, like Stoltz, have the dust settings in their tube amps dialed in just so, and To Dreamers' uptick in rockers slots it in nicely with this scene. But the standouts in this crowd are cutting their retro pastiche with daring, funny, distinctive songcraft that tends to obscure any notions of excessive borrowing. To Dreamers' homespun style and its uptick in straight-up rockers slots it in nicely with this thriving scene, especially as Stoltz moves away from Nick Drake delicacy and Brian Wilson idolatry towards a looser, rockier sound. But no matter who he's gunning for, the ever-adaptable Stoltz, unlike some of his newfound contemporaries, still seems uncomfortable peeling off the costumes and letting a little more of himself shine through. Like his previous work, To Dreamers is a mostly solitary pursuit, with Stoltz handling the lion's share of instrumentation and production himself. Yet even alone in the studio, Stoltz tends to get crowded out by his influences. His voice-- generally easygoing yet plenty chameleonic-- tends to adapt to the style of the music he's emulating; he drawls and draws out syllables like Petty on "Keeping the Flame", channels Ray Davies' terse early delivery on the Kinksish "Little Girl", and while he stops short of karaoke, there is a sense that this one's the Bowie song, this one's the T. Rex, and so forth. Lyrically, Stoltz isn't so much a phrase-turner as a place-setter, opting for the kind of identifiable sentiment that marks many of his influences; he may land a chorus in your head, but chances are you won't be taking the verse lyrics with you. His melodies are unwaveringly graceful, good humored, approachable; they're just not all that arresting on a case-by-case basis, and time and again, the best moves on To Dreamers seem channeled from anywhere but Stoltz's cellar....full text |
| Reviler |
| San Francisco underground icon Kelley Stoltz is a master of the lush, slow-burning melody. Like his heroes Lennon, McCartney, and Davies, when Stoltz puts the rock n’ roll on “low” he often comes up with some beautiful results. On his brand new record To Dreamers tracks like “Pinecone” and “August” are definitive proof of this talent. Both tunes (but especially the former) are lovely, leisurely paced tracks that are well drawn and full of nuance. The problem with To Dreamers, however, is that with a few exceptions, Stoltz mainly sets the rock level at “high” but isn’t quite able to pull it off the same feat quite nearly as well as said idols. Dreamers is made up of made up of a lot of almost-catchy, upbeat pop hooks that might have shined brighter were they not paired with mostly banal lyrics and rock clichés. For instance “Rock & Roll With Me”s refrain of “Do you want to rock and roll with me / do you want to lose control with me” doesn’t sound like something that should be coming from a guy who’s spent nearly twenty years honing his craft. And “I Like, I Like,” is more or less just a rhymed grocery list of basic stuff that Stoltz appreciates about his woman. “I like I like… the way that you talk / I like I like….just to watch you walk,” should give you an idea. It’s sort of like Green Eggs and Ham set to rock music. And simplistic lyricism set to irresistible pop hooks isn’t by definition a terrible thing – The Beatles built an entire cult around it in their early sixties beginnings. Unfortunately though, for the most part Stoltz’s hooks just aren’t enough to carry the songwriting. I mean the Beatles’ “Love Me Do” certainly wasn’t brilliant for its exceptional lyrics. It did, however, contain some of the catchiest hooks of its day, and that was (and still is) enough. And Stoltz seems to be banking on that same concept, except that in his case the earworms just don’t get very deep....full text |
| Sfweekly |
| San Francisco's Kelley Stoltz is practically a scholar on the matter of vintage rock. So we have high hopes for his next Sub Pop release, To the Dreamers, which is due out October 12. Stoltz's last record, Circular Sounds, tread a familiar path of '60's-indebted pop/rock -- and we mean that in a nice way. Lyrics about San Francisco and a pleasantly musty production make it a reliable slab of harmony-laden, Kinks-y rock. Sub Pop says To the Dreamers will show more of a post-punk edge, which has our eyebrows raised in curiosity. The album will also feature a cover of '60's psych tune "Baby, I Got News For You," on which the song's creator, "Big Boy" Pete Miller, performs with Kelley on the same guitar and amp he used for the original. Sounds cool, eh? Catch Stoltz when he's sorting through the stacks at Grooves Inspiralled Vinyl on Market Street, and he might even tell you a bit more about it....full text |
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