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Reviews of "The Very Thing That You Treasure"


  • "Beautifully crafted, laid-back pop songs as sunny as a fresh summer's day, and as melancholy as mid-fall, Spike Priggen's The Very Thing That You Treasure is a delicate, yet sophisticated acoustic pop record."

    Alex Steininger

    In Music We Trust


  • "The Very Thing That You Treasure, Priggen will tell you, has been a lifetime in the making. Quite frankly it’s been worth the wait."

    Kurt Hernon

    Bangsheet


  • If there is any justice in this teen-popping world, The Very Thing That You Treasure won't get lost on the streets. It's a sweet little treasure that deserves a home.

    Carrie Havranek

    SonicNet


  • "The Very Thing that You Treasure is, quite simply, an amazing album. From the first track, a gorgeously reverby, jangly pop ballad called "Every Broken Heart," you know you're into something good. Priggen's voice is kind of nasal and a little bit awkward, but there is a gentleness to it that is immediately charming."

    Scout

    Delusions Of Adequacy


  • "Next time I'm getting over a terrorizing, head-over-heels heartbreak, The Very Thing That You Treasure will be in the driver's seat, helping me cry myself into the nearest telephone pole. Until then, this unbelievably depressing CD will be sitting on my shelf, safe from unsuspecting ears that can't deal with its gut-wrenching power. Priggen definitely has issues with chicks, as several tunes (including "Every Broken Heart" and "She Used To Be My Baby") highlight a borderline obsessive-compulsive singer-songwriter bloodletting his emotions onto a recorded medium. Priggen has a way with words, and his exceptional lyrics weave intricate tales of desperation and loss that somehow, by the disc's end, inspire a sense of hope and yearning. Nonetheless, this potent collection of tear jerking, honky-tonk pop tunes is a marvelous expression of calculated emotional outbursts. Medical authorities should be contacted immediately, as this CD should only be allowed into your CD player with a prescription from your local psychiatrist."

    Andrew Magilow

    Splendid E-zine


  • “To be blunt about it, this is a brilliant LP, and as debuts go ranks right up there with those of Marshall Crenshaw, Big Star and The Pretenders. It’s full of indelible hooks and I just want to keep playing it again and again and again…One of the year’s best”

    Toast Magazine


  • “Turns simple phrases around gorgeous melodies and into moving pop poetry”

    Mean Magazine


  • “Gloriously melancholy. Worth every minute of the ride.”

    Power Of Pop


  • “The very definition of bittersweet”

    Joey Sweeney

    Time Out New York


  • "His lyrics seethe with John Lennon's anger (and wit), but most often, and most brilliantly, they hinge on the sort of forlorn melancholy that Chris Bell made so affecting."

    Red Tunic Troll

    Amazon Customer Review


  • "In the finicky music world, Spike Priggen may well be destined to skirt around the perimeters of success for a few more years to come, but his satisfying songs are already worthy of a wider audience. Priggen's debut, The Very Thing That You Treasure, finds the accomplished musician joining the alt.country fray as a less cocky version of Ryan Adams. Two of the better offerings, Every Broken Heart and Outtasight take to the sort of countrified twang that R.E.M. tried for on 1991's Out Of Time. .. It is welcome news that Priggen has already set to work on a follow up."

    Rip It Up Magazine


  • "Priggen's songs are so melodic and throw up so many surprises both lyrically and sonically that it is hard not to love everything on this record.All of the tracks have been a favourite at different times so it is hard to pick out a standout song. It changes from the opening 'Every Broken Heart' to everything in-between that and the last song, 'So Good To See You', a strange psychedelic ballad full of weird effects and mellotron.

    Pennyblack Music Website


  • "In truth it's hard to single out tunes for praise when all 12 tracks are consistently solid. This is a 'song' record, an album that's not about glossy production or sampled drum beats. Spike Priggen writes damn good songs, and that's what you'll find on The Very Thing That You Treasure."

    Barfly.com


  • "Not the most rock 'n' roll of names, and one most likely that most of you have never encountered before, but then 'The Very Thing That You Treasure' isn't the most rock 'n' roll of records. In fact, the debut from New York based multi-instrumentalist Priggen is a wonderfully vibrant melting pot of eclectic pop rock styles that will have power pop fans drooling.

    Classic Rock (UK)


  • "Starting with a chorus of “Every broken heart is just like the first one”, Priggen shows his perfect hand early. Matching Teenage Fanclub with Matthew Sweet, he can’t help but sound like Big Star – which is even better! Irresistibly ragged production and endlessly bittersweet guitar solos will have you singing every line, and feeling like you wrote them all yourself. Proof beyond question that the one thing you can never grow out of is a teenage crush."

    TNT Magazine (UK)


  • "It's an album of confidant versatility, and the two years it took to record are evident in the sound of the material, the care that has been given. So often these days music can seem meaningless, vocals tossed away with a cheap rhyme, but not here."

    Logged Off Website

« May 2006 | Main | September 2006 »

New Haven Register Brief Review & Gig Preview

Register"I'll review it in the Register soon, but I've been on vacation for the last couple weeks and really haven't been able to comment on former New Havenite Spike Priggen's new record, "There's No Sound In Flutes!"

If you pick up today's paper, open up Weekend and look at Making a Mix, you'll find that Spike is this week's subject. In the feature, I briefly mention how good the record is, but let me just say that this disc will more than likely make it on my best-of 2006 list at the end of the year.

It's simply power-pop goodness. The tunes go down easy and leave you feeling plump and happy, with a big belly full of power chords and piano fun.

The point of all this? Well, it'd be a shame not to check out Spike and his band (which will be full of guest stars) play at Cafe Nine Saturday. The gig brings Spike back home to celebrate the record's release, and you'll be able to buy the disc there.

As Nike likes to say, just do it. And then let me know right here what you think.

Deal? OK, deal." By Pat Ferrucci Link

Posted by Spike on Aug 29, 2006 at 08:46 PM in Press, Reviews, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

The Onion A.V. Club Review of There's No Sound In Flutes!

Avclub_logo_1 Veteran alt-rock scenester, bedazzled.tv blogger, and all-around pop-culture junkie Spike Priggen makes music as a way of defining and expressing his eclectic taste, and on There's No Sound In Flutes! (Volaré), he celebrates simple pop songs pumped up with kitchen-sink orchestration. A lot of Priggen's songs sound as programmatic as homages can be, but he transcends his influences occasionally, like on "Little Star," a '70s AM-ballad exercise with a winning heart-on-the- sleeve lyric, and "Everyone Loves Me But You," a nasty bit of twangy power-pop. B-
By Noel Murray

Posted by Spike on Aug 29, 2006 at 04:22 PM in Press, Reviews, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

New Haven Advocate Reviews of "There's No Sound In Flutes!" and "Pop As Can Be..."

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Spike Priggen , There’s No Sound in Flutes (Volare).

New Haven native Michael “Spike” Priggen’s guitar-hooked pop songs are so catchy, you’re not sure what the titles are because every single lyric is so quotable. On the opening track, the verse goes “I know everything,” while the chorus wonders “Maybe it’s wrong to be right.” “Little Star” says “You know I’m not that smart/And you know I’m not that strong/And how could I be precious/When you bought me for a song?,” a sentiment continued on “Everyone Loves Me But You,” which begins “You think that you’re so smart…” Spike’s last disc was an all-covers project, so it’s thrilling to hear 11 Priggen originals in a row, his guitar, vocals and keyboards backed by the rocking yet reverent rhythm section of Scott Yoder and Brian Doherty, with guest appearances by Cheap Trick’s Bun E. Carlos and guitar great Mark Spencer. This instant pick-me-up keeps you up by varying the arrangements from alt-rock to alt-country to power pop. The angry-dad cover cartoon by Hate ’s Peter Bagge and cryptic album title cinch its irresistibility.  —Christopher Arnott

TV Neats and the Excerpts , Pop As Can Be and Dance City All the Way (Wizzard in Vinyl).

Neat! Even more Spike Priggen! This Asian import collects 15 songs by his late-‘70s outfit TV Neats, plus one by the Excerpts (co-starring Hamden-raised popmaster Jon Brion). A bonus disc captures TV Neats live at New Haven’s ECA Arts Hall in early 1981. These peppy, propulsive pop tracks (with titles like “Dear Abby” and “I Said Oh No”) are an important document of the shaping of the local scene, as well as a snapshot of pure-pop Priggen before he deepened his sound via Hello Strangers.  —C.A. Link

Posted by Spike on Aug 29, 2006 at 03:50 PM in Press, Reviews, There's No Sound In Flutes!, TV Neats |

Third Volume Of Power-Pop Anguish Stretches A Bit Musically

Priggen_cd_lores3Priggen's third solo LP continues his catalog of anguished, melancholy power-pop gems. He sings with a voice that's got the sweet sadness of Matthew Sweet, chiming guitars ala Big Star, and wry twists of Cheap Trick, The Cars and others. Trick's Bun E. Carlos even pounds the skins on two of the album's tracks. Those who enjoy the Sweet's "Girlfriend" will find much to enjoy in Priggen's catalog. The addition of strings on a few tracks is a nice experiment - hanging the productions halfway between the AM pop sides of the early-70s and the guitar-rock of mid-90s college radio. The result supplements the feeling of desperation on songs like "I'm So Glad You Broke My Heart," and provides accompaniment to the giant chiming guitars of the Everly-esque "Disappointing Everyone." Priggen is expert at drawing insecure protagonists who fall apart in the face of their objects of disaffection, and sawing cellos (whether real or synthesized) add an extra dollop of gravity. Even more interesting are the atmospheric experiments with optigan and mellotron that add a subtly shifting and pulsating backing to tunes like "Til It All Falls Apart." Similarly, the swirling flute sounds and stabs of processed vocals mixed into the electric 12-string guitar pop of "R.I.P. Green Eyes" add a trippy edge in the manner of the Beatles psychedelic-era material. Priggen turns Brian Wilson with "Little Star," combining mellotron, a plucky Carole Kaye styled bass line, and dramatic drum fills. In the end though, the album's killer track is one of its most straightforward power-pop odes, "The Only Girl (in the World)." This magnificent country-pop profile of the stuck-up girl that you hate, envy and desire is perfectly accompanied by Jon Graboff's twangy guitar playing and airy puffs of Hammond B3. As per Priggen's usual methods, the closing track harbors a few bonuses, including an oft bootlegged tape of Buddy Rich cussing out his band, and two extra songs that didn't quite "fit" on the album. Priggen's put together yet another fine volume of pop song that shouldn't fly below your personal radar! [©2006 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com] Posted at Amazon.com and CD Baby.

Posted by Spike on Aug 24, 2006 at 02:34 PM in Press, Reviews, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

New Haven Record Release At Cafe Nine

Priggen_cd_lores_2I'll be playing the New Haven (my hometown) version of my Record Release Party for "There's No Sound In Flutes" this Saturday August 26th (The NY one is on September 8 @ The Lakeside Lounge) at the very pleasant Cafe Nine. My last gig there (just about a year ago) was one of my funnest in years. I'm expecting some special musical guests and some faces I haven't seen in about 25 years. Should be interesting. Hope to see you there.

Posted by Spike on Aug 24, 2006 at 01:11 PM in Gigs, Shows, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

"There's No Sound In Flutes!" On Sale Now!

Priggen_cd_lores_1On his third solo album There's No Sound In Flutes, New York-based singer/songwriter/guitarist/blogger/pop-culture archivist Spike Priggen delivers yet another winsome, bracing blast of punchy, sublimely catchy guitar-driven pop-rock songcraft, filtered through the singular sensibility of a much-traveled musical adventurer who's a born romantic, a voracious pop-culture fiend and, above all, a lifelong believer in rock 'n' roll's ability to transcend, transform and inspire.

From the jangly romanticism of "I Know Everything," to the scathing wit of "Everyone Loves Me But You," to the heart-on-sleeve sentiment of "Little Star," to the elegant, evocative twang of "The Only Girl (in the World)," the self-penned, self-produced There's No Sound In Flutes (on the artist's own Volare Label) maintains the same bountiful levels of craft, energy and heart that distinguished Priggen's prior solo releases, the all-original The Very Thing That You Treasure and the quirky covers collection Stars After Stars After Stars.

Priggen's new songs also feature distinctive arrangements that make use of all manner of exotic sounds and textures.  "I liked the way all the orchestral stuff on Stars After Stars After Stars turned out," the artist explains.  "So almost every song on this one has some kind of orchestral element, from simple chamberlain and mellotron parts to complex 18-piece arrangements.  I've always loved that sound, and once I realized that we could do these amazing arrangements, I wanted to have that on every song. Once or twice I thought we might have gone overboard on some of the songs, but they all eventually won me over."

In addition to showcasing Priggen's performing and songwriting gifts, There's No Sound In Flutes also draws upon the talents of many of the stellar players with whom Priggen has crossed paths over the years.  The album was engineered by longtime collaborator Adam Lasus, whose recent recording credits include work with the Rogers Sisters and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.  Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, a longtime Priggen pal, is featured on two songs, while other tracks feature such stalwart New York players as guitarists Mark Spencer (Laura Cantrell/Jay Farrar) and Jon Graboff (Ryan Adams/Amy Rigby), bassists Danny Weinkauf (They Might Be Giants/Fountains of Wayne) and Scott Yoder (Kevin Salem/Amy Rigby), keyboardists Rob Arthur (Joan Osborne/Peter Frampton), drummer Brian Doherty (They Might Be Giants/XTC) and keyboardist/arranger CP Roth (Blessid Union of Souls/Ozzy Osbourne), who masterminded the album's inventive faux-orchestral arrangements.

Meanwhile, renowned underground illustrator Peter Bagge provided the album's inspired cover art, which, like the disc's title, is based on legendary big-band drummer Buddy Rich's fabled tape-recorded rants.
Spike Priggen "Hideaway".mp3
SpikePriggen.com
Spike Priggen Myspace page
Spike Priggen @ Allmusic Guide
Spike Priggen "The Very Thing That You Treasure" on iTunes
Spike Priggen "Stars After Stars After Stars" on iTunes
Buy From CD Baby
Buy From Amazon 

Buy Spike Priggen "There's No Sound In Flutes" w/ US  Shipping $12

Buy Spike Priggen "There's No Sound In Flutes" w/ Outside the US Shipping  $15

Posted by Spike on Aug 21, 2006 at 12:39 PM in Store, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

Spike Priggen "Hideaway" mp3

Priggen_cd_loresHere's a free pre-release mp3 of the song "Hideaway" from my upcoming CD "There's No Sound In Flutes" (with a cover illustration by Peter Bagge) which will officially hit "the streets" on August 28th. Please feel free to pass it around or re-post it on your blog or whatever. Press inquiries should be directed to Proxy Media. 
Spike Priggen "Hideaway".mp3
Spike Priggen-Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
Mark Spencer-Lead Guitar
Brian Doherty -Drums
Rob Arthur-Hammond B3 Organ, Fender Rhodes Piano
Eddy Zweiback-Tambourine
CP Roth-String Arrangement
Spike Priggen Myspace page
Spike Priggen @ Allmusic Guide
Spike Priggen "The Very Thing That You Treasure" on iTunes
Spike Priggen "Stars After Stars After Stars" on iTunes

Posted by Spike on Aug 18, 2006 at 09:43 PM in Sounds, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

TV Neats & The Excerpts "Pop As Can Be & Dance City All The Way"

Popascanbecd5002 CD's of previously unreleased music by the premier Connecticut Power-Pop band of 1981- TV Neats (plus 1 song by The Excerpts featuring Jon Brion). On Japan's Wizzard In Vinyl Label.

Disc 1 contains 15 Power-Pop gems. 14 by TV Neats + "Will I Ever See You Again" by The Excerpts (written and sung by Michael "Spike' Priggen and Jon Brion). All are remastered from cassette as all master tapes are lost. TV Neats-Pushing Buttons.mp3 

Disc 2 is TV Neats Live At The Educational Center For The Arts in New Haven, Connecticut, February 20th, 1981.  TV Neats-"Dear Abby" (Live).mp3

TV Neats & The Excerpts "Pop As Can Be & Dance City All The Way" $20 including US Shipping


TV Neats & The Excerpts "Pop As Can Be & Dance City All The Way" $24 including Shipping Outside the US

Posted by Spike on Aug 05, 2006 at 11:27 AM in Store, TV Neats |

TV Neats Original PR Letter

Tv_neats_letterAttention:

In the deserted warehouse section of Lower New Haven there is a sparking-bright new quintet destined to dominate the international airwaves. Rehearsing diligently, TV Neats was first plotted then fabricated by Ricky Rondo, formerly the leader of Hot Bodies. Ricky spent the fall of 1980 producing some local demos, searching for the perfect combination of looks, vocals, and creativity. He approached guitarist and vocalist of the Ex-Cerpts, Michael Priggen and lead singer/keyboard player of The Kids, Ms. Robyn Ouiba to form TV Neats. Bassist Chipper Anderson, a former local musician was called from Hollywood, as he fit right into TV Neats musical attitude.

The band then immediately picked four songs and recorded them in a few short weeks. The entire group has developed in an incredibly rapid fashion, all members agreeing in attitude and direction, not unlike many other hit machines. If local response is any clue (Was I) Dreamin' Again has the possibility of being a colossal midsummer smash for 1981. "Give Me More" shows a moody and structured style while "Shadows" and "Runnin' Round" are as pop as can be and dance city all the way. The gems just keep coming.  TV Neats entire set is worthy of any major labels interest: All differ in style but maintain a consistency in sound while being thoroughly recognizable after just one taste.

TV Neats has the hits. TV Neats has the image. TV Neats would like to be on your record label so they can infect the ears of the young record buying public with their contagious style of pop with a twist.  D. Larson

Read the "Pop As Can Be & Dance City All The Way" Liner Notes
Buy TV Neats & The Excerpts "Pop As Can Be & Dance City All The Way"

Posted by Spike on Aug 05, 2006 at 11:26 AM in Scrapbook, TV Neats |

"Pop As Can Be & Dance City All The Way" Liner Notes

Tv_neats_spike_kneelingTV Neats was the 4th "punk rock" and/or "new wave" band that I was in, in New Haven, Connecticut between 1978 and 1981, after The Special Guests (featuring early New Haven scene producer and former member of "The Snotz" Thom Gartland), The Obvious (with Mark Mulcahy and Ray Neal, both later of Miracle Legion), and The Excerpts (Power-Pop hero Jon Brion's 1st band-represented on this compilation by the song "Will I Ever See You Again").

Ricky Rondo (sometimes "Rondeaux" - real name Ric Orlando) led a power trio called Hot Bodies, which was one of my favorite combos on the local scene (I covered  "In The Inside", written by their drummer Kerry Miller, on my 2005 LP "Stars After Stars After Stars"). There was some talk of me joining Hot Bodies as the 2nd guitarist/singer, but instead Rick broke up the band and started the "local supergroup" TV Neats.

Recording had begun on the first TV Neats demo (sometime in 1980) before I was officially asked to join the band. Ric and keyboardist/singer Robyn Ouiba (real name Robyn Cornell) formerly of "The Kids", had gone into Joe Mendyk's West Haven studio with local "rhythm section for hire", Rich D'Albis (Drums) and Doug "Derek"  Riccio (Bass) -both then of "Doug Derek & The Hoax". They recorded four songs: Ric's "Runnin' Round", "Shadows" and "Don't You Take It Away" and Robyn's "Was I Dreaming Again".  I was soon asked to join the band and I added my guitar and vocals to all 4 songs. The tape garnered a bunch of airplay on the local college radio stations.

The band was then filled out by Robyn's former "The Kids" bandmate, bassist Greg "Chipper" Anderson (who had also been in the Connecticut band "Epitome") who was enticed to move back from Hollywood on the strength of the first TV Neats demo. Jay Potts (real name Potocsky- his brothers are Joel Potts of "Miracle Legion" and Moe Potts of "The Laughing Dogs") was brought in to play the drums.

We played around the local clubs like "The Joint", "The Whalley Cinema" & "The Arcadia Ballroom" with other area bands such as "The Poodle Boys", "Suburbanites",  "Disturbance", and the aforementioned "Doug Derek & The Hoax" as well as opening for, at New Haven's premier venue "Toad's Place",  national and international acts such as "Joan Jett & The Blackhearts" and "The Stranglers" (who made Chip change out of his leather trousers as it was in their contract that no support bands could wear leather on stage!). One of our more unusual regular gigs was opening on weekends for local singer Michael Bolotin (long before he changed his name to Michael Bolton and became so successful) in a loft above a steak restaurant, a job we got because our drummer Jay and his brother Moe (Mark) were also the dual drummers in Bolotin's band.

On April 1-3, 1981 we returned to Joe Mendyk's studio and recorded 9 more songs. An alternate version of the 1st demo's "Don't You Take It Away", "Who's Courtin' Who", Robyn's "I Said On No", my song "Pushing Buttons", "Band Tonite", the obligatory "white reggae" jam "Sound Off", "I'm OK" (written by Ric but sung by me), "Do You Remember Me" and "Dear Abby".

By the end of July 1981, Chipper had left the line-up to start a band with New Haven guitar prodigy Bobbie Rose (The Snotz). He was replaced by former "Hot Bodies" member Scott Harris (that's him in the pictures of TV Neats live on the New Haven Green). The band broke up not too long after that. Ric and Jay moved to Boston and started the funk band "Skin". Robyn stopped playing music and for a while managed the band "October Days". I played bass in "Stray Divides" with Mark Mulcahy and Ray Neal and future "Dumptruck" co-founder (and former "Suburbanite") Kirk Swan, until I finished high school & moved to New York City in the fall of 1982 to attend the School of Visual Arts.

In 2006, Ric Orlando is a successful chef and restauranteur near Woodstock, NY. Robyn Cornell lives with her husband and son in her home town of Monroe, Connecticut. Greg "Chipper' Anderson is a professional fox hunter in North Carolina and still plays in bands. Michael "Spike" Priggen is a songwriter and recording artist in New York City and publishes the blog Bedazzled.tv.

Read TV Neats Original PR Letter
Buy TV Neats & The Excerpts "Pop As Can Be & Dance City All The Way"

Posted by Spike on Aug 05, 2006 at 11:25 AM in Scrapbook, TV Neats |

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Reviews Of "Stars After Stars After Stars"


  • "New York-based Spike Priggen of Liquor Giants, Pussywillows, and Dumptruck enthralled fans with his 2001 solo debut's synthesis of Big Star's chime, the dBs' quirkiness, and Dwight Twilley's pure pop power. This follow-up of lovingly selected covers (in the tradition of Bowie's Pin-Ups and the Band's Moondog Matinee) melds the hearts and minds of the originals with his overarching melancholy, mating a collector's ear for material with a producer's imagination for re-creation. Highlights include Priggen's versions of the Pontiac Brothers' yearning "Be Married Song" and the Zombies' delicate morning-after B-side "How We Were Before." The Ramones, Tracey Thorn, and Scritti Politti's songs all find a common wistfulness in Priggen's soul- and country-inflected arrangements. Closing the disc is a mesmerizing found-sound "J&H Productions" tape, in which a would-be Cincinnati concert promoter attempts to "get with" the "label industry." Whether the "label industry" "gets with" Spike Priggen, lovers of Lennon, Chilton, Stamey, and Sweet certainly should."

    Eli Messinger

    East Bay Express


  • "Although it is a highly eclectic collection of mostly obscure songs by other artists, Priggen's second album, "Stars After Stars After Stars," underscores the considerable depths of his talent. Priggen makes each song his own, giving the album a remarkable coherent sound. Some of that is due to his song selection, songs which, except for a straightforward reading of Alice Cooper's "Eighteen," render themselves to his vaguely rootsy power pop interpretations. Priggen reclaims "Questioningly," the Ramones' well-written but improbable stab at country-rock and rescues from obscurity early British pop gems such as Tracy Thorn's "Plainsailing" and Scritti Politti's "A Slow Soul.""

    Mark Wilson

    Evansville Courier & Press


  • "This second album finds Spike Priggen and a bunch of friends (Ivan Julian, Bun E Carlos, etc.) covering some great underknown songs by folks like the Pontiac Brothers, the Zombies, Nikki Sudden/Dave Kusworth the Jacobites, Tracy Thorn, the Ramones, etc. If Spike is doing all of the vocals as the press kit seems to indicate; he's the best singing vocal mimic I've ever heard. His Tracy Thorn, and Joey Ramone are uncanny."

    George Parsons

    Dream Magazine #5


  • "Priggen is a frequent performer on the NYC scene and at various times has been a member of Dumptruck, Hello Strangers, Liquor Giants, Schramms, and Pussywillows. His 2001 debut revealed a tremendous talent for perfect pop songs often filtered through a country sound. Therefore, the first track on his new disc comes as quite a shock with its blast of synthesizer. Thereafter, he returns to his normal style, for which a useful comparison is Freedy Johnston, whom Priggen resembles in vocal timbre, melodically (especially), and to a lesser extent in overall style. It's a sound that doesn't work well unless lavished on high-quality songs, and Priggen supplies plenty."

    Steve

    The Big Takeover


  • "Most of the album is a nostalgic look back at the artist's past, including the bands he's played in as well as those he's idolized, including the Hot Bodies, the Jacobites, and the Zombies. He works through these songs competently and respectfully, and in the end what he's created is a tribute to his own musical development. But in doing so he's also given us a window back into some forgotten moments in music from the 70's and 80's various indie, new-wave, and punk scenes."

    George Ford

    Delusions Of Adequacy


  • "On Spike's new "Stars After Stars After Stars" he pulls off the neat trick of recording a classy set of covers (The Pontiac Bros. "Be Married Song"; Zombies, Jenifer Jackson, Sudden & Kusworth) with a star-studded cast (Bun E Carlos, Ivan Julian). He's kicked around in some bands that almost crossed over (Dumptruck, The Liquor Giants, The Caroline Know)--can he finally get a break?". -

    Josh Goldfein

    The Village Voice

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