Artists like Howie Day, John Mayer, Ben Arthur and Jason Mraz are bringing the sensitive male singer-songwriter form to the forefront of pop. Buddahead (aka:Raman Kia), follows right in those watered down footsteps. A place where hints of lyrical depth, that jumble with catchy, yet dire musicianship, summate the nauseating side of today’s mall culture The first single, “When I Fall,” is so sugar coated, that images of a noisy food court and the Gap prevail.
Recorded in Los Angeles, Crossing the Invisible Line, has some noteworthy names attached – producer Don Gilmore (Good Charlotte, Linkin Park) and mixer Andy Wallace ( Nirvana, Jeff Buckley, Sheryl Crow) – however, Buddahead’s lyrical illusions of conflicts, fears, confusion, and hope, mixed with the zealous over production, makes this buzz artist’s intentions come across much too contrived. Not even a guest vocal/harmonica contribution on “Invisible” from Blues Traveler frontman John Popper can rescue this debut effort from plasticville. The Buddahead name is catchy and his soft emotional voice shows promise – but without skimming back on the slickness in future efforts, instead of being comparable to a Jeff Buckley, he
