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A mature pop
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This review first appeared in the January 29, 2009 issue of the North County Times.
Escondido's Christopher Cash isn't chasing dreams of rock 'n' roll stardom; comfortably into adulthood, he performs and records because of the music itself.
His latest album, "Invisible," is a marked step up from 2005's "Hollywood Mirage." Credit at least part of the improvement to the deft production of Jeff Berkley, but also to Cash's own steadily improving songwriting and singing.
Stylistically, Cash's songs seem to draw on the mainstream singer-songwriter tradition of the 1960s and '70s, run through a filter of '80s synth rock and '90s alt rock. Crosby Stills & Nash, Boz Scaggs and Al Stewart are all present, along with Martin Briley and R.E.M.
Cash's voice sounds remarkably like that of Neil Diamond, which is hardly a bad thing. The nice, thick arrangements of his songs provide a near-perfect backdrop for his singing.
The overall result is a polished collection of pop-rock songs. That they're written from a mature perspective gives Cash a fairly unique niche in the local music scene.