Pop/Rock - In a low keyed but inspired break from his previous four acclaimed albums, singer/songwriter Charlie Mars sets the controls for the heart of a slinky, nearly world-beat groove on his superior new project Like A Bird, Like A Plane. His bio describes the new album as "hardwired to hearts and hips...tightly crafted songs with moods and melodies that pulse with sex, wonderment and self-destruction" and it would be hard to disagree. "I started to feel less inspired by traditional rock," he observes, "and pulled toward the snakey, sinewy, sensuality of groove."

Recorded in Austin, Texas with producer/guitarist Billy Harvey and a fine pedigreed band of seasoned studio players, Bird/Plane, unlike it's title's suggestion, doesn't soar -- instead, it is grounded with a seductive, shadowy funk. The songs may be written as pop/rock gems but the execution has other plans in mind. The rhythms are dark and deep, not overt R+B but something more akin to mix that might be called Mars' own personal sweat-dripped gumbo, how you move when it's just too hot to get worked up.

Tracks like the first focus song and video "Listen To the Darkside" or the sparse organ-based workout "Meet Me By the Backdoor" are developed over smoky bass lines and drum shot beats, adding elements of vocal harmony and chunky, stuttered guitar riffs and Meters-like rhythmic touches. The effect is mesmerizing and entrancing, building gradually and steadily and revealing just enough to draw you in with a slow-burning power. Recommended.

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