Brian Cottrill Releases “Megaphone Inside My Head” LP

Brian Cottrill blows a big breath of fresh wind on – Megaphone Inside My Head, with a release full of glorious power pop songs with a retro vibe and a modern finish not heard in a lot of today’s pop, rock and soul artists. The album does come with a band feel, with Cottrill on vocals, guitar and keyboards, and keeping with long time drummer and collaborator Bob Workman, also with lead guitar by David Zinn and backing harmony vocals provided by daughters, Brooke, Hannah and Erica Cottrill. The ten magnificent songs do the walking, and the musicians do the talking.

URL: http://briancottrill.com/

The vibrancy of the album does not hesitate to intrigue as it starts off by putting “Gonna Love You” in front of “Spin The Record,” with the former giving the latter an initial bump. It works wonders, but at first you do not see the two songs correlating just by reading the titles, so pay attention if you have not heard this album yet. The two tracks go together, with the first preparing you for the second, as you can tell from reading this. It goes from an old fashioned to a more modern on the second track which is really-just the song with a cool intro piece.

“Teenage Kids” is the first of three songs on Megaphone Inside My Head to spotlight his three kids on harmony vocals, with this one featuring Erica Cottrill. The backing vocals really bring the melodies to the forefront where they belong, and that does not change with each daughter and they are three of the better cuts that are worth noting. You can tell their spirits bring more to the picture and this track rings of early 80s in a way that I cannot quite put my finger on after a few spins.

“Don’t Tell Me What To Do” showcases the harmony vocals of Hannah Cottrill, and once again they finish together very well and she makes the track exceedingly vibrant and full. I like the three tracks with his daughters on them the most, so they get more space in this review. I just like what their vocals bring to the songs, making the vocals play a more prominent role for all it is worth. And they are equally as good as the next, with all the others getting in line behind them but still taking no back seats to them.

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The third track featuring one of his daughters, is “What’s Her Name,” and this one takes on even more momentum as the album draws near the end, with Brooke Cottrill getting the microphone and driving it all the way home. I could not review this without mentioning what they add to the mix, but not to leave out any other tracks on this fine record. The grand finale in-particular, “If Tomorrow Never Comes” is another  outstanding track with strings arranged by Davin Seamon, and it takes the album to another level with a brooding ballad and one of Cottrill’s best vocal performances in the studio.

Michael Rand