michael James anderson reviews

The Hartford Advocate - Alexis Fitts
Michael James Anderson, Wake Up for the Shake Down
(Skinny Pond Records).
On his first solo release, Anderson takes his metal mentality into new territory: The Flu fronter doesn't just go a little soft, but all-out acoustic. "Is there any water to quench this typical thirst?" the rocker asks on the first track, in his best Elliott Smith impression; gritty, echoed vocals and all. The pace picks up by track five, with a sweet looped guitar riff interspersed with staccato vocals. Anderson never veers into the saccharine-infused; this is solo acoustic at its best, sensitive without being cloying. Proof that rockers don't have to rock out to be effective.

Northeast Performer Mag. - Nick Stefanovich
Michael James Anderson’s Wake Up For the Shake Down is the artist’s first solo record. After performing with Manchester, Conn. metal band Flu for the last ten years. Showing that behind every metal growler there is the ability to write their own “Every Rose has Its Thorn,” Anderson’s debut solo record is a collection of acoustic based songs that have balladeer Anderson singing in a hushed vocal style.
It’s hard to know whether or not the songs on Wake Up For the Shake Down should be taken seriously. After all, Anderson does NOT wish to thank the television series
“Prison Break” in his liner notes. But the songs on his solo debut require listeners to take notice and listen to every guitar strum and calmed vocal. On the track “The Sound of a Beating Heart,” the snappy guitar plucking and Anderson’s soft vocal make the track one of the album’s highlights.
With 12 songs of Anderson wearing his heart on his sleeve, the soft side of the Flu frontman has been shown. Take that, Bret Michaels! (Skinny Pond Records)