Linus Of Hollywood

"Triangle is an apt title for the latest work from Los Angeles-based Linus of Hollywood. Not only is it his third release-following 1999's Your Favorite Record and 2001's Let Yourself Be Happy-but, more importantly, the entire CD is constructed upon the triad of expertly constructed melody, clever wordplay, and raw emotional honesty. The end result is nothing short of brilliant-imagine a melding of Paul McCartney's melodic sunshine with Chris von Sneidern's pop craftsmanship and Glenn Tilbrook's wry sense of humor and you'll begin to get the picture. Better yet, listen for yourself. "When Are We Gonna Do It?" ("Let's cut the talk and let this sordid affair begin") is easily the best cynical love song so far this century. Wondermint Probyn Gregory earns most valuable backing player honors here - his horns add some zest to the track, as well as to "The Sun Feels Good on My Face" and "Let's Just Stay in Bed All Day." Elsewhere, the emotional honesty of "(It Might Be) Too Late for Us" is compelling, while the infectiously energetic "How Do I Do It Every Day?" offers a sarcastic glimpse into the daily life of a "rock star." On the stripped down "I'll Get Through It," Linus is backed by an acoustic guitar and a few lonely, lovely strings. The end product is as emotionally raw as it is stunningly beautiful. In the fade of the jangly, up-tempo "Do You Know What I'm Thinking," Linus inserts a tantalizingly brief snippet of a particularly tasty George Harrison-esque slide guitar line. It leaves one hungry for more: here's to hoping that a fourth serving from this undeservedly unsung supertalent is soon in coming."
-- Rick Schadelbauer, Amplifier Magazine - Amplifier Magazine

"Linus of Hollywood's Let Yourself Be Happy is not a "new" album, inasmuch as it came out over a year ago. However, Let Yourself Be Happy wasn't even new the day it was released, inasmuch as it's designed to sound like something that's inherently 30 years old. There are moments on this record that seem like someone satirizing Pet Sounds, and that should be a problem. But it's not. And that's not because Pet Sounds is so fucking great; it's because your memories of Pet Sounds are probably better than the album itself. Linus sounds like the memories. The gap between reality and its alleged replication is not uncommon in hard rock: Kyuss records sound more like Black Sabbath than Black Sabbath records do, and the single most-defining Led Zeppelin song is Kingdom Come's "Get It On." But this kind of psychological juxtaposition happens less often in pop, and it's precisely what makes Let Yourself Be Happy so reassuring. What this album re-creates is the experience of hearing Brian Wilson (and -- to a lesser extent -- Paul McCartney) by tapping into the perception of what we think that experience is supposed to feel like. We're reminded of something we never actually heard in the first place. Linus of Hollywood (as opposed to "Linus of Arabia," I guess) is one of those guys who play virtually every instrument on their records, and his central songwriting thesis is that every woman on earth is too beautiful to possibly want him around. He paints himself as something of a likable Lloyd Dobler character on "The Girl I'll Never Have" and "Every Day I Fall in Love Again," and we're evidently supposed to deduce that he's an affable alcoholic on "Thank You for Making Me Feel . . . Better." Why he covers Ozzy Osbourne's "Goodbye to Romance" remains a bit unclear, but it sounds exactly the way Marshall Crenshaw would have handled it. Or so I think."
-- Chuck Klosterman (Village Voice) - Village Voice

"Bizarre but strangely enjoyable collision of Wilson and Spector grandeur co-habitating with a lo-fi Gilbert O'Sullivan piano-basher."
-- Dave Henderson (Mojo) - Mojo Magazine