Petty Human Emotions - Petty Human Emotions

The irony in the name Petty Human Emotions isn't lost on anyone, once the opening song to this self-titled album, "Something New," begins. There are no such things as petty emotions. In the case of this five-member Los Angeles band, emotions are weighty, and it's fully warranted to explore these feelings in song. The group does just that with eleven memorable tracks.

James Nardiello sings these songs with a heartfelt, vulnerable vocal tone. Irony rears its head again with a track titled "Madison Ave." When one usually hears the location/term 'Madison Ave.,' advertising and advertising campaigns oftentimes come immediately to mind. This is where all those schemes to sell us stuff - stuff we may not even need - are cooked up into magazine ads and TV commercials. However, this is an emotive love song, not a knock on the advertising industry. While the guitars are fully amped up during "Madison Ave.," they are completely tamped down to support the next song, "Mae." This one is Nardiello singing over an extremely hushed acoustic guitar backing.

The group's biography explains how this album was originally meant to be a Nardiello solo project, but it eventually evolved into so much more. It's a good thing Nardiello gathered a band around him because songs like "Sorry," especially with its tasteful piano, sound so darn good fleshed out. Yes, one can also imagine these songs stripped down into a kind of lo-fi folk recording, but it just wouldn't have been the same. These songs, many times overflowing with emotional hurt, up the ante on expressiveness with all the fine instrumental accompaniment incorporated within. Emotional, yes, but not petty at all.

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