All Permanent Press bands have one thing in common: melody. Not just little melodies, or a smudginess of melody, or minute residue of melody, but big, tidal wave-size, freakin' Technicolor melodies. Maple Mars, a.k.a. guiatarist/songwriter Rick Hromadka, is no exception, and obviously has the classic pop albums in his collection to draw influences from. He seems to be a particular fan of the Wish You Were Here-era of Badfinger, favoring bright, sparkling sheets of blended electric and acoustic guitars that echo and thunder in all the right places. "I Thought I Knew You Well", "Fly", and the great you-used-me rocker "Souvenir" draw not from the epic, romantic side of Badfinger's Pete Ham, but rather from the sweet, down-to-earth touch of that band's Joey Molland and Tom Evans. As such, this album has a cozy, user-friendly feel, not something you put under glass and admire from a distance. Underneath the gloss, there's real emotion here.

Brad Harvey (The Big Takeover)