Indie Music (09.04.01)
What I like most about pop songwriter Steve Angel is that he's a playful lyricist. Lines kept jumping out at me as I played his debut CD "Hollywood." Lines like "She's a lounge doll baby, soda-pop-rocket-trip" who lives in a "sweet velvet planet" (from "Hollywood Venus"). And I love the romance of telling someone, "You're a song that lives forever" (from "Never Let You Down"). I'm always drawn to the artists who craft their lyrics as well as their music, avoiding clichés. This is a great pop album, and like most indie artists, Angel likes to wander around the genre map. Several of these tracks have a country feel to them, especially "'Round My World." "Second Wind" is cool rockabilly. We get some great sax work from Frank Pincente and Marcus Ali that adds a jazzy feel to tracks like "Leave Me Standin'." My favorite track for its creativity is "Electric Car." This one is completely different from the other songs, but it still belongs on this CD. Angel gets gritty here. His electronically altered lead vocal contrasts with the warm harmony of the chorus. This is a 60s-style rock song with a modern, off-center alt rock feel. It works. (Those background harmonies are provided by producer Brent Bodrug, who has also worked with Alanis Morissette, and vocalist Kay Sargeant.) The music is often free-spirited and fun, even when he's singing about loneliness and isolation. When he's singing about happiness, the songs turn into celebrations. "Wonderland" is a perfect example. It has a carnival atmosphere. "Spirits are in delight, and we go dancing through the night." The upbeat feeling prevails in every song. Despite the sad topic, I had to laugh when I heard "Second Wind." Only Angel could make an evening of a staggering around drunk sound upbeat. The songs are all tied together by Angel's conversational style of singing - half-singing, half-talking, earnestly trying to express himself. He chooses his words as carefully as his music. It's paid off. This is a promising debut.

Cosmik Debris Magazine (09.01.01)
Canadian tunesmith Steve Angel's solo debut gathers a wide range of influences, from Lou Reed's New York grit to Nick Gilder's LA glam and beyond, to create an appealing collection of pop gems. Over the course of eleven tracks, he experiments with sounds and styles, but never buries the underlying pop structure of his music. It's like a recreation of a classic top 40 playlist, with the advantage of contemporary production values and grown-up intellect. Angel's not only a talented musician and songwriter, but he's savvy enough to have enlisted the assistance of Brent Bodrug's indie production house, B-Group Music. Along with top notch design and marketing, that also means the album benefits from Bodrug's considerable studio skills, arranging talents and keyboard wizardry. It's Angel's album, though, and its strength ultimately rests on Angel's songs. In this case, that's a good thing. It's an auspicious debut, and if Steve Angel keeps working at the indie level for long, it will only be because he wants to.

Splendid Magazine (08.27.01)
If you had to go out with a rock and roll guy, Steve Angel is the one your mom would vote for. He's the good-natured singer-songwriter type: sensitive, non-threatening, probably patient and polite and nice to grandma. He writes pretty love songs ("Never Let You Down", "Leave Me Standin'"), mildly inspirational rockers ("Second Wind") and happy, jaunty little pop numbers ("Wonderland"). Yeah, that seems pretty generic and predictable, and mostly it is, but Angel has a swell voice, and his manner is just so friendly and accessible that despite some pretty marginal songs, I still find myself enjoying this disc. The cheese factor is surprisingly low, the production is fine and Angel's nice guy spirit and sincerity are strangely palatable!

The Global Muse (06.27.01)
Steve Angel crafts old-fashioned pop tunes. Although the writing is rather slight in many of the songs, there are enough winners here (like "'Round My World" and "Casanova") to make "Hollywood," his debut CD, an enjoyable ride throughout. Stylistic variety - a touch of ska in "Wonderland," a dollop of acoustic soul in "Another Day," etc. - is a big part of the pleasure to be had in this 11-song album. And unlike in many debuts, the tightly arranged songs don't overstay their welcome. The ballad "I Could Cry" stands out vocally, and Angel sings with brisk energy in "The Things We Do for Money," a fun 60s-R&B-influenced track. The musicians are top-notch. Extra-special props to the horn arrangements and to bass guitarist Frank Medved. Angel and producer Brent Bodrug applied a lot of obvious skill (and loving care) to the nifty arrangements. Good stuff.

hEARd (05.20.01)
Out of Canada comes Steve Angel with his debut album Hollywood, a release that would rather indicate a fair history than a debut & it's little surprise that Steve isn't exactly new to the music scene, already playing with a number of bands. This album is the end result of his decision to go into his own solo career & to that end, it's a remarkable collection of songs running along the fringes of folk pop, though that's a rather hazy description at best, with the music itself opening up much more than that might indicate. Probably the biggest highlight here is Steve's voice, which suits the songs incredibly well & it's tracks like "Leave Me Standin'", "I Could Cry" & "Wonderland" which really set the sound off here. There's apparently a whole stack of new material, so we can only guess where Steve's next work will take him.

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