Akron Beacon Journal

This band is the new vehicle for area singer/songwriter James Pequignot, who has a couple of releases filled with his guitar-based compositions.

Pequignot’s never been afraid of using mechanized drums, but his new trio incorporates the electronics and atmospheric effects to Pequignot’s otherwise standard songs to better effect.

Metal for Breakfast, the opening track on I Finally Know What’s Good for Me, rides an ersatz Giorgio Moroder-like synth pulse with Pequignot blithely intoning “All hail the end of the universe, don’t know why anyone would want to stay another day.”

Treading Water also plays up the ominous atmosphere and Pequignot’s ghostly wailing over rolling arpeggiated guitar and electric piano.

The six-song EP also contains the groovy electric piano sound that emanates from the Coldplay/Keane piano rock axis, particularly on the Coldplay flavored/potential radio single Nobody.

Pequignot’s got a way with a melody and the disc is sequenced so that each song melts away into the next, giving the EP the overall effect of a six-song suite.

I Finally Know What’s Good for Me won’t be available until mid-February, but it establishes the Singular as a band worthy of attention for alt-rock fans who like the billowy sounds of Travis and Snow Patrol.

By Malcolm Abram