Brad Stock
The Atomic Clock
Secret Sidewalk Studios
Street: 07.22
Brad Stock = Steely Dan + terrible rhyming couplets + diet Genesis
The Atomic Clock promised a “rare mixing of genres” and life-changing songs that would send my mind reeling into unknown space, but the whole thing plays like generic radio rock you’d hear at the mall. His lyrics are (occasionally laughable) elementary rhymes—“Watch out, this is mace/pointed straight at your face”—and, on track “Conspiracy of 2,” he even rips off George Carlin’s Napalm and Silly Putty book title. There is nothing spiritual or groundbreaking about the music on this album, though it is well played by seasoned musicians. I suppose it’s edgy, if you’re in the Park City crowd that considers driving through South Salt Lake slumming. For the rest of us, this is less “magnum opus” and more straight adult contemporary, competently performed, if uninspired.