ROYAL WOOD hits the Winter Garden Theatre November 10. See listing. Rating: NNN
Toronto singer/songwriter Royal Wood has come up with an accessible collection of charming pop/rock tunes, and it’s already paying off with radio play and sales. He’s sounding more and more like Paul McCartney, which is a strategy that leads to both good and bland ideas. We Were Born is packed with plenty of catchy romantic songs, arranged and produced so tightly that not a hair seems out of place. Wood does, however, manage to sneak in a few moderately adventurous moments, and resists the urge to let himself get stuck in that too-Canadian roots-pop mold.
What’s surprising is how good he is at writing upbeat major-key rock songs. He may love writing ballads, but someone should force him to jam in a garage with a loud band for a few weeks and see what happens. At the moment, his rock tunes sound somewhere between the Cars and Tom Petty, but there’s potential for something more there.
Top track: Hard Thing To Find
