Adam Cross’ music occupies a space somewhere around the three way intersection of pop, rock and AOR. It’s always well written and performed. It’s seldom extremely unique or original. In other words, it’s like eating comfort foods at your mother’s house, it’s delicious and fits the bill, but it’s never surprising. You really know what you are going to get because it’s predictable. Predictable isn’t a bad thing in music. The pop charts are always filled with songs that have that sort of predictable familiarity. However, when it comes to real innovation, playing it safe is what makes an artist stand out from the crowd. With Sirens Cross shows he has what it takes to create an effective pop disc. Hopefully in future outings he’ll show that he can also pull a trick or two out of his sleeve. Either way this is a satisfying listening experience.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2012  Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Percussion opens this, then a rock styled arrangement that feels, musically, a bit like U2 enters. The vocals come in with a real soulful sound on top of that. This is really a great combination of a pop sound with a rocking one.