Mike Pinto – Truthful Lies
Track Listing:
1.) Tornado
2.) It Ain’t Easy
3.) Without A Fight
4.) Enough Is Enough
5.) Where The Beach Meets The Ocean
6.) When I’m With You
7.) Lost And Found
8.) Do What We Do To Get By
9.) White Lies
10.) Truth Serum
11.) Joy Of Life
12.) Back In California
13.) Greg’s Song
The Pier Album Rating:
Release Date: May 14th, 2013
Website: Mike Pinto Website
Group Background:
Along with releasing his 5th album to date, Mike Pinto also announced a summer tour to go allow with his newest album Truthful Lies. This album marks a new step for Mike in his unique reggae genre, as he took to Soundmine Studios, in East Stroudsburg, PA to work with Dan Malsch and Chuck Treece, as well as Lew Richards at 17th St. Studio in Costa Mesa, CA. Mike sticks to pretty alternative sounding music, but it’s his voice that sets him apart from that “standard” reggae, and it’s no exception on this one, and really aims to impress his fans, old and new.
Album Review:
After giving the album a good listen, Truthful Lies is best summed up as chill background music by someone you’d rather see live in concert. The sound is neutral & pleasing to most, which makes it a good album to listen among an eclectic group of friends and it’s not only pleasing to the ears, but you often times find yourself humming the melody of most songs.
Truthful Lies marks Mike’s 5th studio release, which he believes is his best yet, and there’s no argument there. With a fusion of funk, soul, rock, and reggae around a storyteller approach, this album emulates a special approach to music that Mike represents. With an unbelievable use of instrumentation from piano, organ, sax, trumpet, guitar, bass, and drums, you name it and it’s on this album. To hear the full band in it’s finest jam session moments, go to track #11 “Joy of Life,” which is an instrumental, but damn, is it an awesome song.
From fantastic guitar solos on tracks like “When I’m With You,” to stylistic smooth sounding lyrics of the first single off the album “Where the Beach Meets the Ocean,” featuring Junior Marvin, Mike displays many different elements of fine, eclectic artistry. On the opening track “Tornado” the sax and trumpet really shine through from the likes of his band-mates Jon Cestero and Max O’Leary, respectively.
With Truthful Lies, Mike shows his ability to bring a new feel to each song, especially on the reggae punk jam “Enough is Enough,” where he gets Jesse Wager of The Aggrolites on vocals, Roger Rivas, also of The Aggrolites, on the organ, Lew Richards on bass, and Todd Elrod on drums.
While Truthful Lies really delivers for the first six tracks, it seems to lose momentum going into the next four. Songs like “Lost and Found” and “Truth Serum” featuring Don Carter on trumpet and Jon Cestero on sax, have a bit of a dry factor that most of the other songs on the album don’t possess. When I say dry, I’m trying to say that it doesn’t sit as well as the first part of the album. I found myself remembering all of the first half of the songs, after that, the rest of the songs slowly begin to escape me as they end up sounding a bit generic. While that sentiment could change over time with more spins, there’s a strong start to the album, a good amount of timeless songs with a few I could do without. All in all, a solid release by Mike Pinto.
Written & Reviewed By: Andrew McClatchy
[Editor’s Note: All reviews are reflective of the album in it’s entirety, from start to finish. These reviews are the honest opinion of each writer/reviewer, expressing their feedback as a genuine fan of the music. Each star rating reflects their review of the album, not the band. Music is subjective. Regardless of the review or star rating, we encourage you to listen to the music yourself & form your own opinion. Spread the awareness of all music in its art & contribution]
