Major Spark’s debut album Beautiful Noise is aptly titled. Beautiful Noise is loaded with seemingly simple rock song structures that offer plenty of catchy musical passages as well as hooky choruses. An electric guitar or two strut through all of these tunes in a way that brings a fresh perspective to simple approaches. Vocalists Mark Goodman and Miranda Serra bring an alluring tension to most of these tracks and that gives plenty of extra traction to the Major Spark sound.
This band leaps into our consciousness with ”I’m Not Gonna Stand Around,” a peppy, zippy rocker marked by a call and response between lead singer Mark Goodman and backing singer Miranda Serra. These two vocalists add tension to the brisk pace and edgy guitars, and that adds another fine layer of gusto.
Title track “Beautiful Noise” finds Serra offering larger amounts of her beautiful voice. Her repetition of the song title becomes hypnotic over a persistent beat and alongside an unobtrusive guitar bleat. A rhythm guitar thickens the irresistible vibe of this song. This all comes together in one irresistible song.
“Running From The Toxic Breeze” bops along a poppy backbeat. Brian Charles keeps his guitar sublime and understated as Mark Goodman sends his voices sailing over the knobby rock and roll idioms. His vocal is as light as a kite and catchier than nobody’s business. Drummer James Zaner keeps this tight little ditty moving along at an admirable pace. Throw in a winsome, sweet horn section and this song waves like a big, beautiful flag on a windy day.
Moving into electronic percussion mode, this band still offers plenty of flinty guitar, airy vocals, and a sonic texture that suggests this song is being beamed down or transported from another time and place.
“Turn It Up” is a fun anthem in support of music. A rocking groove, an alluring, understated lead vocal, bracing rhythm guitar, and a feisty lead guitar keep this one in motion. Everything weaves into a rushing sound that lands on the simple chorus before bouncing back into verse. Fun.
“Take The Record Down” is a rock tune that swings around a basic 4/4 beat. Yet, there is so much swinging around it that it feels like a large song. Horns, percussion on top of the drums, and a lead vocalist who knows how to move his voice around that whirl of swing. This one struts as all of its instruments and vocals move like a marching anthem.
“The Finish Line,” like other tune on this album, combines electronic percussion with a regular rhythm section. Throw in a brisk guitar chord progression, and we have another piece that is catchy fun, a sweet vibe augmented by Mark Goodman’s amicable vocal chirp. Piecing together these elements into one song results in something that holds the ear and simply makes the listener happy.
Likewise, “Getting Stronger” feels like it could be a soundtrack for a self-empowerment video. Its bouncy guitar line has a sweet tone that fits in perfectly between a positive, amicable lead vocal and a motivating bounce from Brian Charles’ bass guitar and James Zaner’s backbeat.
Continuing this wave of enthusiastic fun is “Walk Away.” Charles pressing his guitar melody through an effects device that makes it sound deliciously cool. A second guitar keeps a dance rhythm in the texture. Throw in the Mark Goodman vocal enthusiasm, a spike in excitement per verse, and this song will make anyone’s day.
“Run Run Run” is a chill, steady ride through “a drag of life.” The thrills here are low key. Its old school rock and roll groove, simple but catchy chorus, and a compressed guitar line keep this lodged into the listener’s mind. That guitar sounds like it’s being pressed out of thin air and then vanishing back into nowhere. That sound completes this run of tunefulness.
The close out tracks leaves the listener with a strong impression. “Deal With It” presses forward with an assertive guitar line and a pulpy backbeat. That serious feeling of reinforcement leaves open a platform for the vocalists to pay out their worldly voices. The effect of placing ethereal vocals over a driving rock vibe works wonders. It keeps the ears glues on multiple levels, and it results in a song with a lot of moving parts, each part having its own piece of the action. Oh, there is also a sublime lead guitar phrase from Brian Charles that sets the whole thing alight as it wraps up its drama.
With a debut album as strong as Beautiful Noise, Major Spark are off to a better than good start. Bright, catchy, and vibrant, each song is a gem in its own right. Co-written by Mark Goodman and Brian Charles and produced by Brian Charles at his Zippah Studios in Boston, Massachusetts, Beautiful Noise will soon be the big talk of the Boston music scene. This band and their debut album could, if things fall into place, could become well known outside of New England as well.
