Jon Lindsay: Escape From Plaza-Midwood

It’s a shame that Escape From Plaza-Midwood flew under PopMatters‘ radar last year. If you also happened to miss the debut LP from Charlotte-based Jon Lindsay, you’ll find there’s plenty of fun in playing catch-up. Escape From Plaza-Midwood revives the best of 90s power pop, from the ringing guitars and shiny keyboards on “My Blue Angels”, to the unabashed harmonies on “Bring the Old You Back”. Lindsay’s a born crooner, with the kind of voice that can sound brittle but still soar (check out the chorus in “Launch Codes”). You can trace most of the songs back to Brendan Benson’s album One Mississippi, but Lindsay also shares with fellow power-pop enthusiasts Fountains of Wayne a love of name-dropping old haunts and old girlfriends, and a penchant for turns of phrase both clever and off-color. Whether he’s comparing love to a Ponzi scheme (“I would Bernie Madoff with your heart today”) or posing a question meant for an ex (“Could you bring the old you back? / ‘Cause this one really sucks”), Lindsay’s stories usually feel familiar. It helps when you can give life’s smallest moments a big, beating heart.