★★★★★
It's easy to respect Steve Poltz's work ethic. 20 years into his career and there isn't much the jokester troubador hasn't done: double-digit studio albums (including two new upcoming releases), multiple world tours, a children's album, jingles, a turn as bandleader on the The Hugh Thompson Show, a self-parodying role in web series Up The Creek, and, now, a documentary soundtrack. Poltz says he took on the project, Running Wild: The Life of Dayton O. Hyde, for the challenge...
- www.popmatters.com
2014-01-22
★★★★★
Other than to say that he sits in the Americana camp (whatever that is), it is almost impossible to categorize Steve Poltz. He rocks, he croons and he plays with taste and consideration but he can also tell the most outrageous lies and when he hits the straight Country trail he is sweeter than honeyed peaches. But the album holds together brilliantly. Whoever he is being, his music is played to perfection and there is always something in the lyrics to grab your attention...
- www.music-news.com
2012-11-17
★★★★★
Steve Poltz is like nitrogen in the atmosphere. He has been there for as long as anyone can remember, around us all the time, but he goes mostly unrecognized. Poltz flirted with stardom in the past via cult success as a member of The Rugburns, a solo record on a major label, a co-writing credit on Jewel's "You Were Meant For Me", even a performance at my North County San Diego high school where he stood two urinals down from me in the men's room and never made eye contact--true story...
- www.popmatters.com
2012-09-20
★★★★★
Former Rugburn and San Diego elder statesman, Steve Poltz, is back with another collection of tuneful indie-folk ditties called Dreamhouse. It is safe to say that no new ground is broken here, no earth is shattered, and no paradigms are subverted. What we have is the strummy, smart-guy pop of the kind that keeps Brendan Benson in cigarettes and skinny t-shirts, so one can't help but wish that a Jack White-type would come out of the woodwork and provide Poltz a similar career boost...
- www.popmatters.com
2010-11-14
★★★★★
Those opening notes to the title track of Steve Poltz's Dreamhouse, picked on a nylon string classical guitar, strike the air with a casually surprising joy that hooks like the irresistible electricity of a live performance. As I've been belatedly basking in the afterglow of Niño Josele's Paz, while also harboring a deep love for witty yet tender folk-pop songwriting, the effect for me personally is greatly intensified...
- popdose.com
2010-07-25
★★★★★
Steve Poltz wasn't kidding when he titled his most recent CD Traveling. The track "A Brief History of My Life" includes an extensive travelogue for the artist. "We drove across the continent from Nova Scotia to Pasadena," he sings at one point. Once there, he name drops California hot spots like Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Palm Springs. But there is much more to Poltz' music than just points on a map such as on songs like "What Would Ghandi Do...
- www.popmatters.com
2008-11-11
★★★★★
There is an unwritten rule known to the various gatekeepers of the music business, be they A&R; people, booking agents, or even critics: given the chance to audition or make a demo tape, songwriters almost invariably will present their worst songs, leaving their best ones to the end or not playing them at all unless coaxed...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
★★★★★
Singer/songwriter Steve Poltz demonstrates his craftsmanship on Traveling, a varied album of story-songs that range from complete fiction to apparently straightforward autobiography. The latter is represented by the longest cut, "Brief History of My Life," which follows Poltz from Canada to San Diego, including encounters with Liberace and Elvis Presley along the way. Those provide examples of Poltz's wit, which occasionally tips over into sarcasm...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
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