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CD review: Move By Yourself - Donavon Frankenreiter

Like his mentor, Frankenreiter is an erstwhile prosurfer with a penchant for writing lazy melodic hooks and drawling out pop-soul vocals with catchy guitar motifs supported by a supple, organic rhythmic groove.

It's a sound that has proved to be very popular in New Zealand - we love it, in fact.

Move Yourself sees Frankenreiter shift to the Lost Highway imprint (same parent record company) and the opening title track suggests a tempo-lift approaching 70s-styled blues-pop.

The feel of Shuggie Otis is almost evoked, but immediately Frankenreiter falls back into the easy groove of his first record: By Your Side, Let it Go and Girl Like You will be the new singalong concert favourites.

That's Too Bad (Byron Jam) attempts to showcase Frankenreiter's more than decent guitar skills and his love of 70s rock, but it's really just a lesser Ben Harper number or a John Butler facsimile.

Perfectly nice, but the glimpse of true soul vanishes instantly, proving that the surface polish isn't even necessary to cover up the lack of internal grit.

Donavon Frankenreiter's Move By Yourself is out now through Lost Highway/Universal.

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