Introducing ‘I Bought A New Pedal’: Cormac Liotta’s EP Delivers Power-Packed Punch in Under Three Minutes!
So, I stumbled upon this little gem the other day: an EP, 3 songs, all under 3 minutes long. And no, not each song, but the whole EP under 3 minutes long. Intrigued, I took a quick peek at the press release…
“Los Angeles based musician and producer Cormac Liotta bought a new pedal down the street from his house in Hollywood, wrote an EP and released 3 songs on April fools day.”
What was it Shakespeare said, “Brevity is the soul of wit?” Oh, and did I mention what the EP is called? Take a wild guess… yup, it’s titled, ‘I Bought A New Pedal.’
Digging a little deeper, I found out Cormac draws inspiration from bands of the early 2000s like Fountains of Wayne and Jimmy Eat World, and has some previous collabs under his belt.
So, with just the EP to go on, let’s dive in.
First track, ‘Olive.,’ and bam, we’re hit with distorted guitars and vocals – instantly catchy and bursting with energy. The drums kick in, taking it up a notch – this is pure awesome. Catchy hooks, great vocals, sweet harmonies, even some claps for extra bounce… it’s all there. And then it’s over. Haha, not much to say except I adore the radio edit version (my words), but where’s the rest of the song? Talk about leaving us wanting more. 51 seconds of sheer power pop perfection for my taste buds. It’s got hints of Fountains of Wayne, plus some Oranger vibes with the fuzzed-up everything.
Next up, the slightly longer ‘From Horses, He Falls.,’ running at a whopping 1 minute and 9 seconds. Again, nothing short of brilliant. The production, the harmonies, it’s all just perfect. The tune, the ideas, this is power pop/punk at its finest. Witty lyrics, great feel, buckets of energy.
Finally, the 48-second song I’ve been itching for, the almost titular track the EP is based on, ‘New Pedal.’
I bought a new pedal, it makes my songs sound better this way.
Yeah, I bought a new pedal, now I’m making songs every day.
‘New Pedal.’ by CormacLiotta
Again, just awesome! The lyrics are sharp, to the point and the story has basically been told over the course of two lines. The production keeps the vibe of the previous tracks and nails those clever chord changes and hooks Cormac’s clearly a master of. It’s still a blend of early Fountains of Wayne with Oranger, and it works like a charm and keeps the EP cohesive.
Now, the big question… Is Cormac just having a laugh here? Well, in my book, yeah… but it’s a calculated laugh. If Cormac was rubbish and couldn’t write a hook to save his life, then it’d be a different story. But that’s not the case – we’ve got a singer / songwriter with serious chops. Which brings me to the next question… Is Cormac just being lazy and not bothering to finish the songs? Well, that depends on whether Cormac feels each song is saying everything he wants it to. If it is, then why stick to the formula of second verse fleshing it out, chorus repeats, middle eight lifts, and potential key changes? He doesn’t need to… and good on him! Only Cormac knows the answers to the whys and the whats, but for me personally, it’s a blast! The songs are catchy, clever, and they get straight to the point. No fluff – Cormac’s stripped them down to their bare, essential bones.
One more question… Did it leave me wanting more? Hell yes! Encore…! But, seeing how Cormac doesn’t conform to the norms, next time I might just stumble upon a 60-minute prog-rock tune!
Give it a shot, it’s three minutes of pure musical joy 🙂
