Zach Berkman
His songs are just a bunch of unoriginal ballads, but there’s something special about them. They have that niceness that ballads must have to stop them from being boring, that turns a song from album filler to chart-topper. I can’t see Zach getting anyone no.1 singles with these songs, but he could certainly sell a lot of albums if his music gets heard. Radio 2 listeners would lap this stuff up. I’d categorise him with Jack Savoretti and Ben’s Brother and all those acts most people take no notice of (Jason Mraz used to be one), but to a certain group of people their albums can really mean a lot. From the sound of the songs on Zach’s MySpace, he has absolutely zero chance of making any difference to the music industry, but if these songs make some people’s lives a bit cheerier, as they certainly will, then who are we to stop him?
Hit Potential: 65% Poptasticness: 68%
Jamin
When a band splits up (as all signs seem to suggest Under the Influence of Giants have), it is usually the lead singer who goes on to have a solo career. But not with UTIOG. Well, the singer may release new material at some point, but it’s Jamin, the drummer, who appears to have taken over their MySpace to inform us dedicated fans of his new project. And this time, he’s the singer, although if there is any drumming needed I suppose he will probably do that too! It’s clear that, contrary to expectations for a drummer, Jamin did have quite a strong influence over his previous band’s music, because the only thing particularly different with his solo songs is the vocals. I like both of the songs on his MySpace, but I don’t see either of them as hits. If they’re album tracks, great, but we’ll need something a bit better if Jamin wants to outlast UTIOG and release more than just the one (although brilliant) album.
Hit Potential: 26% Poptasticness: 83%